Sketch released of suspect in shooting of NYC imam, friend

New York City police released a sketch early Sunday of the suspect they say fatally shot the leader of a mosque and a friend as they left afternoon prayers Saturday.

According to police, Imam Maulama Akonjee, 55, and Thara Uddin, 64, were both shot in the back of the head at the corner of Liberty Avenue and 79th Street in Queens.

Surveillance video appeared to show a man, wearing shorts and a dark polo shirt, approaching them from behind before fleeing with a gun. Police released a sketch of a dark-haired, bearded man wearing glasses. Police said witnesses described the shooter as a man with a medium complexion.

No arrests had been made by early Sunday.

"There's nothing in the preliminary investigation to indicate that they were targeted because of their faith," said Deputy Inspector Henry Sautner of the New York Police Department. But The Council on American-Islamic Relations held a news conference near the shooting scene on Saturday, where Kobir Chowdhury, a leader at another local mosque, said, “Read my lips: This is a hate crime” directed at Islam. “We are peace-loving," the Associated Press reported.

Police said Akonjee was carrying more than $1,000 when he and Uddin were shot, but that the money was not taken, the New York Times reported.

Shahin Chowdhury, a worshiper at the mosque, told the AP that he recently heard people cursing while passing the mosque and advised community members to be cautious. He called the imam a "wonderful person."

The neighborhood of the shooting, Ozone Park, which straddles the border between Brooklyn and Queens, is home to a growing number of Muslim families from Bangladesh, the New York Times reported. Hundreds of residents rallied Saturday evening at the crime scene, chanting, “We want justice!” according to the Times.

Contributing: The Associated Press