A Muslim advocacy group on Monday plans to announce a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest of the gunman who killed a NY mosque leader and his associate as the families of the slain men make funeral arrangements and continue their quest for answers in the shooting.
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In a statement on Sunday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, said the slayings were felt by all of New York City.
One speaker demanded security cameras be erected outside mosques and for the street where the two men were shot to be renamed in their honor.
But Boyce says surveillance footage shows the man speeding away from the scene of the Saturday shooting near a Queens mosque in a black GMC Trailblazer.
Earlier Monday evening, New York City officials sought to reassure members of the Muslim community in New York, saying that a “strong person of interest” was in police custody.
The NYPD believes a man they have in custody is the person behind the fatal shooting of an imam and his associate.
“While we do not yet know the motivation for the murders of Maulama Akonjee and Thara Uddin, we do know that our Muslim communities are in the perpetual crosshairs of bigotry”, de Blasio said in a statement following the incident.
The victims appeared to have been stalked by a lone gunman who shot them in the head at close range at about 1:50 p.m. (1750 GMT) on Saturday, police said after interviewing witnesses and watching surveillance video.
“We will make sure that whoever did this is brought to justice, I can guarantee you that”, de Blasio said.
NY police “must not engage in giving mixed messages”, said one speaker, alleging that such messages create anger in the community. A search warrant has been obtained for his home in East New York, Brooklyn.
Authorities said earlier Monday that investigators had detained and questioned a man as part of an attempt to identify a vehicle seen leaving the scene of the shooting.
Authorities say surveillance footage showed the vehicle leaving the scene of Saturday’s shooting in Queens.
The traditional Islamic services for Imam Maulama Akonjee, 55, and Thara Uddin, 64, drew a large crowd to a parking area near where the men were killed after Saturday prayers at the Al-Furqan Jame Mosque in the Ozone Park section of Queens.
Akonjee’s son, Foyez Uddin, who isn’t related to the other victim, tells The Associated Press in Bangladesh that his father and mother had booked flights for August 31 to visit the elder man’s mother.
At the memorial service, the imam’s son had one simple request as he spoke for the families. He said they “cannot believe he is no more”, call the loss “irreparable”.
Police said they have not yet determined a motive for the killings, but some in the Bangladeshi Muslim community served by the mosque worry it could be a hate crime.
A Muslim advocacy group is announcing a reward for information leading to the arrest of the gunman who killed a New York City mosque leader and his associate.
At a news conference, Mayor Bill de Blasio acknowledged the fear that had spread among members of the city’s Bangladeshi community over concerns that the two men, who were dressed in religious garb at the time of the attack, had been targeted due to their faith.
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The Council on American-Islamic Relations joined a community news conference about the deaths.
