Man due in court over murder of NYC imam and his assistant

New York police officers walk with murder suspect Oscar Morel. WABC-TV via AP Photo

NEW YORK // A New York man is expected to appear in court on Tuesday after being charged with second-degree murder in the deaths of a New York imam and his assistant, who were shot dead over the weekend.

The charges against Oscar Morel, 35, of Brooklyn, came on Monday just hours after hundreds of mourners gathered for the funeral of the two men. The killings in the borough of Queens shocked the neighbourhood’s Bangladeshi community.

Mr Morel was charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the deaths of Imam Maulama Akonjee, 55, and Thara Uddin, 64, a spokesman for the New York Police Department said.

He also was charged with two counts of second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. The spokesman did not disclose any possible motive for the shooting.

Police said Mr Morel was being held early on Tuesday morning and was expected to be arraigned later in the day.

Mr Morel had been questioned by police following his arrest on charges related to a hit-and-run traffic accident on Saturday, the day of the shootings.

Akonjee and Uddin were shot in the head at close range after Saturday prayers at the Al Furqan Jame Mosque in Queens’ Ozone Park section.

Police said there was no known connection between the man being questioned and the murder victims.

City mayor Bill de Blasio, addressing the funeral, promised the city would bolster the police presence in the neighbourhood even though the motive behind the killings was still unclear.

Police had said earlier that there was no evidence the men were targeted because of their faith but nothing was being ruled out.

* Reuters