Imam, friend shot dead in New York, protests erupt

The leader of a New York City mosque and a friend were fatally shot in a brazen daylight attack as they left afternoon prayers on Saturday, around 2pm local time.

The police said Imam Maulama Akonjee, 55, and 64-year-old Thara Uddin were shot in the head as they left the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid mosque in the Ozone Park section of Queens shortly before 2 pm Both men were later pronounced dead.

The police said no motive had been established and there was no reason to believe the men were shot because they were Muslim. No suspects have been arrested.

“There’s nothing in the preliminary investigation to indicate that they were targeted because of their faith,” a senior police official said. Cops said video surveillance showed the victims were approached from behind by a man in a dark polo shirt and shorts who shot them.

But members of the Bangladeshi Muslim community served by the mosque said they want the shootings to be treated as a hate crime. More than 100 people attended a rally on Saturday night and chanted “We want justice!”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, an advocacy group, held a news conference near the shooting scene, where Kobir Chowdhury, a leader at another local mosque, said, “Read my lips: This is a hate crime” directed at Islam. “We are peace-loving.”