Inspired by Donald Trump, US gunman kills Muslim scholar, companion

[email protected] (News Network)
August 14, 2016

New York, Aug 14: A terrorist allegedly inspired by US presidential candidate Donald Trump, killed a revered imam and his friend in New York as the pair walked home from Saturday prayers, blasting each in the back of the head without a word.

maulanaMaulama Akonjee, the Imam of Al-Furqan Jame Masjid Mosque in Ozone Park and his friend Thara Uddin were dressed in Muslim garb when the killer “approached from behind and shot” from point-blank range, said NYPD Deputy Inspector Henry Sautner of the Queens South Detective Bureau.

Akonjee, 55, a married father of three, was a respected religious leader since his arrival in Queens from Bangladesh less than two years ago. Uddin, 65, died about four hours after the attack.

“We are all crying,” said his brother Mashuk Uddin. “There's so much crying.”

Scores of worshipers from the mosque gathered within hours at the murder scene to denounce the cold-blooded ambush as 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.”

A high-ranking police source said the NYPD Hate Crimes Task Force would investigate, but it was “too early to say” what the motive was.

A second source said investigators were looking into the possibility of a botched robbery because one of the men was found carrying several hundred dollars.

The shooter left his victims lying in their own blood just one block from the Al-Furqan Jame Mosque in Ozone Park, where the two victims prayed together only minutes earlier.

Police sources said they have witnesses who saw the killer holding a gun, as well as security video of the shooter following the imam and his friend. The footage then captures the man sprinting back, this time with a gun in his hand.

The imam's nephew said Akonjee had no problems with anyone in the neighborhood.

“I'm not sure what kind of an animal would kill that man,” said Rahi Majid, 26. “He would not hurt a fly. You would watch him come down the street and watch the peace he brings.”

The gunshots rang out around 1:55 p.m. on 79th St., police said. Uddin, also a father of three, was lying on the ground bleeding heavily when his nephew arrived by chance at the scene.

“I was upset. I cried. He's my uncle,” Rezwan Uddin, 28, said.

Witnesses described a chaotic scene where the silent shooter started blasting at the two unarmed victims in the middle of a blistering August afternoon.

“We are devastated,” said Kobir Chowdhury, president of a different neighborhood mosque. “We need to get to the bottom of this. We need to know if they did this just because of our religion.”

Local residents described the imam as a pious, well-regarded member of the community. Akonjee was leaving for Bangladesh in 10 days to attend his son's wedding, said Ahmed Zakria, a member of the mosque.

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.”

A police source said there were no reports of any problems going back several years at the mosque.

A bullet tore through the brain of Uddin, who was on life-support at Jamaica Hospital before passing away, said his brother Mashuk. The victims, both natives of Bangladesh, were apparently headed to Uddin's house when they were attacked.

“I'm very shocked,” said Mashuk Uddin. “I'm shaking, my whole body. Not any problems with anybody. He just goes to the mosque, prays and goes home.”

Cops and witnesses described the shooter as tall and Hispanic, carrying a large handgun, and wearing a dark blue shirt and shorts.

“I mean, I was scared,” said witness Steven Nauth, 27. “I had my little cousin out here and I told him to run.”

The gunfire erupted near a storage facility and a block away from the elevated A train station, officials said.

“People being shot in the head in broad daylight is unheard of,” said Millat Uddin, a 25-year resident of the neighborhood who is not related to the victim, Thara Uddin. “Killing people brutally, like they're an animal.”

Roughly 300 angry protesters clogged the streets late Saturday. “This community has been rocked by this crime,” said Councilman Eric Ulrich.

Afterward, they packed into a nearby mosque for an emotional news conference attended by Muslim leaders and a City Hall official.

“Please, read my lips. This is a hate crime no matter which way you look at it,” Chowdhury said.

Comments

saleem
 - 
Sunday, 14 Aug 2016

Inna lillahi wa inna ilahi rajioon

REHAN
 - 
Sunday, 14 Aug 2016

Inna Lillahi Wa Inna Ilaihi Rajioon

aharkul
 - 
Sunday, 14 Aug 2016

??? ??? ? ??? ???? ??????

May ALLAH (SWT) bestow both of them a Jennathul Firdouse for their service to Muslim Humanity.

REcognise
 - 
Sunday, 14 Aug 2016

Dear Satyameva Jayate...

Islam never teaches us to be like them even if they blame innocent people as terrorist.. Be patience and dont b like them who always blame others to get away with their drawbacks and evil acts... Our religion doesnt teaches us to be arrogant... Arrogant and the oppressors are the fuels for the hell fire. Arrogant people will always complain and the people who blindly belief even after getting lot of proofs that muslims are innocent.. will also be a part with them... which will be eternal if they dont repent to God for their mistakes. God forgives every sin except associating partners with him.

Satyameva jayate
 - 
Sunday, 14 Aug 2016

Christian terrorists. ... real enemies of Islam...

Mohammed SS
 - 
Sunday, 14 Aug 2016

??? ??? ? ??? ???? ???????

Brother
 - 
Sunday, 14 Aug 2016

inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un : Surely We belong to ALLAH and to him is his return.

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 29,2020

Bengaluru, Jun 29: A 99-year-old woman has successfully recovered from coronavirus in Bengaluru, leaving the medical fraternity and her family elated.

The woman had contracted the pathogen after coming in contact with her grandson and was hospitalised on her 99th birthday on June 18.

The woman was taken to the government Victoria Hospital along with her 70-year-old son, daughter-in-law and grandson.

"While we three developed symptoms like cold, cough and fever, my mother remained asymptomatic," the woman's son said.

The family members are still wondering how they got infected by the virus as all except the woman's grandson, were confined to their home most of the time.

Her 29-year-old grandson was the only one who went out to buy groceries.

Initially, the family approached a private hospital nearby for treatment, but they refused to accept COVID-19 patients.

Left with no option, the family got admitted to the Victoria hospital.

"We had reservations about Victoria hospital, but it turned out be a good one.

We did not spend a penny since the day we were admitted and my mother and son fully recovered," the woman's son said.

According to Dr Asima Banu, nodal officer of the Trauma Care Centre at the Victoria hospital, the woman was reluctant to get treatment at the hospital.

"With moral support from doctors and nurses at the Trauma Care Centre, she recovered very fast. She is always positive in life," the doctor said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 14,2020

Bengaluru, July 14: Ahead of the week-long lockdown in Bengaluru starting from Tuesday night, around 35,000 people have left the city and grocery stores and liquor shops are witnessing a rush with customers thronging to stock up on for the shutdown.

According to transport department officials, labourers from other parts of the state migrated in good numbers from Bengaluru ahead of the lockdown fearing that they would have to face similar challenges as they had to confront during the previous shuttering. 

"Yesterday 35,000 passengers left Bengaluru. The number is big given the fact that we are allowing a limited number of passengers in the buses to maintain social distancing," a KSRTC official said.

Tipplers made a beeline for liquor shops and a senior State Excise official said liquor worth Rs 230 crore was sold on Monday alone.

"There was apparently a mad rush yesterday.India Made Foreign Liquor worth Rs 215.55 crore and 14.83 crore worth beer was sold...," the officer said.

In view of the rising coronavirus cases in the city at an alarming proportion, the government decided to impose lockdown from Tuesday 8 pm till 5 am on July 22.

Later, Dharwad and Dakshina Kannada districts too decided to impose a lockdown for nine days and seven days respectively from Wednesday.

"For the past two days there is an unusual rush of customers in our store," an executive of the Metro Cash and Carry said.

According to him, people are buying grocery items and vegetables with long shelf life such as onion, potato, radish, carrot and beetroot.

A salesperson at the Star Bazaar too said people were thronging the store for the past two to three days.

During the Sunday curfew, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the week-long lockdown will be stringent one and government has made all arrangements to address all concerns ahead of the shutdown.

As many as 19,702 people in Bengaluru have tested positive, of which there are 15,052 active cases, while 4,328 have been discharged.

The number of fatalities as of Monday is 321.

Across Karnataka, 41,581 people have tested positive for coronavirus including 24,572 active cases, 16,248 discharges and 757 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic in the state.
 

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
January 5,2020

Ballari, Jan 5: Thousands of Muslims, joined by the members of various organisations, on Saturday staged a massive protest in the town condemning the provocative speech by Bellary MLA G Somashekar Reddy.

The police caned the agitators after they tried to lay siege to the house of BJP legislator.

The protesters holding national flag took out a rally from Kaul Bazaar, which passed through the major streets, and culminated at Gadagi Channappa Circle. They raised slogans against the BJP and burnt the effigy of Somashekar Reddy.

The protest sent the traffic haywire Gadagi Channappa Circle and the cascading effect of it was seen across the town. SP C K Babu told the agitators that the MLA has been booked for making provocative speech and pleaded them to hold a protest at Municipal College grounds. But the agitators were in no mood to relent.

Inspector General (Bellary Range) I G Nanjundaswamy has rushed to the town to oversee security. The BJP MLA on Friday made inciting remarks against minorities during his speech at a pro-CAA rally in the town.

FIR against Reddy

The Gandhinagar police in the town on Saturday registered an FIR against MLA Somashekar Reddy, for making a provocative speech, under IPC Sections 153 A (promoting enmity between two religions), 295A (insulting religious beliefs) and 505B.

During his speech at a pro-CAA rally on Friday, Reddy had said, "Hindus are 80% of the population while minorities are 17%. What will happen to you if we hit back? Hence, you should be very careful about your moves and steps."

The legislator came down heavily on those staging protests against CAA in Ballari. "We won't keep quiet if another protest is staged against the CAA. Each Hindu is like Shivaji. Nobody will be alive if all Hindus come out to streets holding swords," he had said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.