Silke Jasso
A gunman opened fire in a Queens, New York, neighborhood, killing an imam and critically wounding his assistant.
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“I’m not sure what kind of an animal would kill that man,” Rahi Majid, 26, told Daily News. Majid is a Muslim man who gathered at the scene to express his anger.
“He would not hurt a fly. You would watch him come down the street and watch the peace he brings.”
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The gunshots rang out near the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid Mosque in Ozone Park, leaving both men lying on the ground near their house of worship, according to witnesses.
The incident took place around 1:50 p.m., police said. Dozens of angry Muslim men gathered at the murder scene, who believed the shooting was a hate crime.
“That’s not what America is about,” said local resident Khairul Islam, 33. “We blame Donald Trump for this … Trump and his drama has created Islamophobia.”
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Local residents described the imam as a well-respected member of the Muslim community. It was unclear if the killer said any remarks before he started shooting. Police do not believe it was a hate crime, describing the shooter as a tall, Hispanic man, wearing a dark blue shirt and short pants.
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The imam was “a very sweet, soft-spoken, humble man,” said Chowdhury, 40. “He’s a role model as an imam, as a father, as a community member. He didn’t have any disputes with anybody.”
“People being shot in the head in broad daylight is unheard of,” said Millat Uddin, a 25-year resident of the neighborhood. “Killing people brutally, like they’re an animal.”
