The charges came hours after hundreds of mourners attended the funeral service for the 55-year-old mosque leader Maulana Alauddin Akonjee, who was respected locally, and his 65-year-old associate Thara Uddin.
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Akonjee and Uddin were shot in the head at close range after Saturday prayers at the Al-Furqan Jame Mosque in Queens’ Ozone Park section.
CCTV footage from the area shows a man fleeing the scene of the shooting in a black GMC Trailblazer vehicle, which disappeared into traffic, police said.
That vehicle was involved in a hit-and-run three miles (5km) away in Brooklyn shortly afterwards.
Morel was arrested outside a Brooklyn flat after he intentionally rammed his auto into an unmarked police cruiser trying to block him in, Mr Boyce said.
“A police official said investigators had found what they believe was the murder weapon in the man’s home as well as clothes matching the description of what the gunman had been wearing during the shootings”.
Community members march in protest in the streets after funeral prayers were given for Imam Maulama Akonjee and friend Thara Uddin August 15, 2016 in NY.
“From family and friends, the ones we talked to, they can not tell us why he did this”, said Boyce.
Police have not identified a motive for the shooting.
Boyce said Morel may have worked in a warehouse in East New York, Brooklyn, but he wouldn’t comment any further on his background or mental state.
“The defendant ran up behind both of them and pumped numerous bullets into them striking them both in the head. leaving them lying in the street mortally wounded”, he said.
The mosque serves the large Bangladeshi community in Ozone Park.
Authorities did not release a motive for the killings, though Boyce said the possibility that the murders were a hate crime is “certainly on the table”. “My brother is a decent person”, he said. Some members of the congregation shouted “justice” throughout the service.
“It’s a very rare thing to see a cleric killed, and members of the Muslim community have been on edge because of the atmosphere already that existed in this country, particularly over the last few months in our national debate”, he said.
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio also promised to help restore peace and offer protection for Muslims in the community who feel that their safety is threatened. The first-degree murder charge, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison without parole, was added because the attack was believed to be “the intentional killing of two individuals during the same transaction”, Brown said in a statement.
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Police said there was no known connection between the man being questioned and the murder victims.
