Near Ozone Park Mosque
A lone gunman opened fire on a Queens imam walking home from Saturday afternoon prayers and a second man, leaving one of the pair dead and the other critically wounded.
The gunshots rang out near the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid Mosque in Ozone Park, leaving both victims lying on the ground in their own blood just a block from the house of worship, according to witnesses.
“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. We need justice ... It seems like somebody has taken the law into their own hand.”
The imam was reportedly shot in the head, and the other victim in the chest. It was unclear if the killer said anything before he started shooting.
The Al-Furquan James Masjid Inc. mosque in Ozone Park, where the victims had just left after afternoon prayer.
(DAVID WEXLER/FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)
“All of a sudden I heard five shots,” said one witness, who declined to give his name. “I knew it wasn’t firecrackers. And then the commotion of the emergency (vehicles), and that’s when I knew.
“When I came here, they were doing CPR to both of the people on the ground.”
The two men were shot on 79th St. near Liberty Ave. about 1:55 p.m., officials said. First responders rushed the pair to Elmhurst Hospital.
The two men were shot on 79th St. near Liberty Ave. about 1:50 p.m., officials said. First responders rushed the pair to Elmhurst Hospital.
(DAVID WEXLER/FOR NEW YORK DAILY NEWS)
Witnesses said the shooter, wearing a dark blue shirt and carrying a large handgun, fled the scene on foot. Police recieved a 911 call with a report of shots fired.
“I mean, I was scared,” said witness Steven Nauth, 27. “I had my little cousin out here and I told him to run.”
Police, without providing a motive, initially said the shooting was not a hate crime. The gunfire erupted near a storage facility and a block away from the elevated A train station, officials said.
“For no reason,” said Kobri Chowdhury, president of a second neighborhood mosque. “He had finished his prayers ... Somebody else with him. Just a pure, blind, hate crime.”
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