Bangladeshi Imam, assistant fatally shot near New York mosque

Police said Imam Maulana Akonjee and Thara Uddin, 64, were walking home after midday prayers at Al-Furqan Jame Masjid Mosque on Saturday when they were approached from behind by a male with medium complexion who was dressed in a dark polo shirt and shorts. According to witnesses and video surveillance, immediately after the victims were shot, the same male was seen fleeing from the scene with a gun in his hand. Both victims were dressed in Islamic attire at the time of the shooting. The lone gunman still remains at large. Responding to multiple emergency calls, police found Akonjee and Uddin with gunshot wounds to the head. They were both taken to a local hospital, where Akonjee died as a result of his injuries. Uddin was also in critical condition and later succumbed to his injuries. 

Deputy Inspector Henry Sautner said that currently a motive has not been determined and “there’s nothing in the preliminary investigation to indicate that they were targeted because of their faith.” He said the police is conducting an extensive “canvass of the area for video and additional witnesses.” Meanwhile protesters fired gunshots, hurled bricks and set a gas station on fire in the US mid-western city of Milwaukee, hours after a patrol officer shot and killed an armed suspect who took flight after a traffic stop, authorities said. The 23-year-old suspect, who had a lengthy arrest record, was carrying a stolen handgun loaded with 23 rounds of ammunition when police pulled over the vehicle for unspecified “suspicious activity,” authorities said.