The charges against Oscar Morel, 35, of Brooklyn, came on Monday just hours after hundreds of mourners gathered for the outdoor funeral of the two men.
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The killings have stoked fear and anger in the largely Bangladeshi Muslim community in Queens and Brooklyn.
Robert Boyce, chief of detectives for the New York Police Department, told reporters Monday that Mr. Morel’s black GMC Trailblazer matched the description of the getaway auto used in the shooting of Imam Maulana Alauddin Akonjee and Thara Uddin near the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid mosque.
Oscar Morel appears in a Queens courtroom in New York, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2016.
Police arrested and charged Morel with murder late Monday night in the brazen daytime.
Maulama Akonjee (55) and Thara Uddin (64) were shot dead after they left the Al Furqan Jame mosque in Queens shortly before 2pm on Saturday.
“There is nothing in the preliminary investigation that would indicate they were targeted due to their faith”, NY police Deputy Inspector Henry Sautner told reporters Saturday.
“I assured the members of the community that the NYPD would be out in force, protecting community institutions, protecting Muslim communities all over the city”, said Mayor Bill de Blasio.
Police were able to trace Morel’s Chevy from the cycling accident back to the scene of the crime – a 12 minute span, prosecutors said.
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Minutes after the two Muslim men were shot, Morel, who was driving a black GMC Trailblazer, hit a bicyclist at the intersection of Pine Street and Pitkin Avenue, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Police said Monday night they also found clothing in the man’s home similar to that being worn in a surveillance video that shows the gunman. About 10 minutes later, a auto matching that description hit a cyclist in the nearby borough of Brooklyn.
Fakrul said of the victims, “They had no business with anybody”.
Investigators said they have not established a motive in the attack.
“Whether a hate crime was committed in this case, the crime will be vigorously prosecuted and we will seek the most serious penalties that our law allows”, Brown added. He is accused of murdering Imam Maulana Alauddin Akonjee and Thara Uddin near the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid mosque in the Ozone Park neighbourhood of Queens.
Both men were wearing traditional religious attire, and Akonjee was carrying about $1,000 in cash that was not taken.
Police earlier said “hate crime” was being investigated as a possible motive.
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In Bangladesh, the imam’s eldest son Fayez Uddin Akonjee, 28, said he was relieved at the charges.
