NEW YORK_An Ozone Park imam and another man walking with him were fatally shot from behind Saturday afternoon on a street two blocks from their mosque, New York Police Department officials said.
The imam, Maulama Akomjee, 55, was walking north on 79th Street at Liberty Avenue shortly before 2 p.m., when a man came from behind and shot him and Thara Uddin, 64, of Queens, at close range in the head, police said Saturday.
The victims were identified by Detective Ahmed Nasser, an NYPD spokesman.
The gunman, who wore a dark polo shirt and shorts, was seen on video surveillance and by witnesses running from the scene with a gun, police said.
NYPD officials had not determined a motive for the shooting, which took place about two blocks from the al-Furqan Jame Masjid, where Akomjee served as imam.
When asked about a possible robbery, police said it appeared nothing was taken. While both men were wearing religious attire, police said it did not appear to be a hate crime.
"There is nothing to indicate they were targeted for their faith," said Deputy Inspector Hank Sautner of the NYPD Queens South Detective Bureau.
The two victims were taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center in critical condition, where first Akomjee, then Uddin were pronounced dead Saturday afternoon.
The killing sent shock waves through the Queens community, where many believed the men were targeted for their religion.
About 100 residents stood on Liberty Avenue under the train tracks, many wearing traditional religious attire, shouting: "We want justice!" and "We say hate crime!"
One resident, Mohammed Mannan, 65, lives a block away and said he attended the mosque Saturday morning with the imam. Mannan said he believes Akomjee was targeted, because the imam's beard, cap and tunic made it was clear he was Muslim.
"Who killed him? We want justice," Mannan said. "He's an innocent man."
New York City Councilman Eric Ulrich, a Republican, spoke into a megaphone during the rally and told the crowd, "Justice will be served in Ozone Park."
"There's no evidence to suggest this was a hate crime as of right now," Ulrich said later in an interview. "This was a heinous act that happened in broad daylight."
Misba Abdin, who works at an East New York supermarket, said he attends the mosque where Akomjee presided and said the imam and most of the members of the mosque are of Bangladeshi descent.
"He was a very quiet person," Abdin said of Akomjee. "He normally only prays."
Abdul Azeem Khan, an imam from Jamaica, came to the scene of the shooting to offer moral support to the Ozone Park community.
He said the community doesn't know what led to the killings, but that the current climate toward Muslims and the proposed immigration ban by Donald Trump hurts the community.
"Tension is growing," Khan said. "People think Muslims are bad people. Donald Trump is sending the wrong message."
Azra Choudhury, 14, was classmates with one of the imam's children and came to the scene after learning of the shooting.
"He used to pray all the time _ five times a day," Choudhury said. "Why would a person do that to other people?"
