Oscar Morel, suspect in the killing of imam and friend in Queens, NY may have been trying to settle Muslim-Hispanic neighbourhood dispute
Suspected killer of Queens imam and friend arrested
Oscar Morel, 35 is charged with shooting Maulama Akonjee, 55, and Thara Uddin, 65, at close range in the head, Saturday
Questionable, Morel, was trying to settle scores on Muslim-Hispanic neighbourhood dispute, but the possibility of a hate crime hasn’t been ruled out
Before his arrest, Members of Al-Furqan Jame Mosque show a sketch of Oscar Morel
The man suspected to have who executed an imam in cold blood, Saturday, has been by identified by police as Oscar Morel.
i.
Apple Watch Sport, Space Grey Aluminum Case/Black Band, 42mm
It is believed that Morel, 35, who gunned down a revered Queens imam and his friend may have been settling a petty neighborhood beef between Muslims and Hispanics, police sources said early Monday. Morel is charged with carrying out the killing with ruthless efficiency, shooting both Maulama Akonjee, 55, and Thara Uddin, 65, at close range in the head Saturday
Investigators were questioning the suspect taken into custody late Sunday night, and were pursuing the possibility the killing may have been an escalation of a recent dispute over parking. Still, Police had not yet ruled out the possibility the brazen daylight executions were a hate crime.
Oscar Morel after he was charged with murder on Monday
He was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon late Monday, police sources said.
But sources said the killer, who carried out the shooting with ruthless efficiency, shooting both Maulama Akonjee, 55, and Thara Uddin, 65, at close range in the head Saturday afternoon, may have gotten sloppy after pulling the trigger.
Police suspected the gunman may have hit a bicyclist with his car shortly after the shooting, sources said.
The cyclist wrote the down the car’s license plate and notified police.
Oscar Morel is alleged to have guuned down Imam Maulama Akonjee in broad daylight, along with his friend, Thara Uddin.
The make of the ride matched descriptions of the car witnesses described fleeing the shooting, leading police to the suspect, sources said.
An NYPD Regional Fugitive Task Force then conducted what turned out to “brief surveillance” of the suspect, who rammed an unmarked police car shortly after they began spying on him, sources said. Police then arrested the suspected gunman.
The killings had left residents of Ozone Park scared and angry. Akonjee, who had moved to the U.S. from Bangladesh two years ago, was widely respected at the Al-Furqan Jame Mosque. Many said they believed the shootings were a hate crime carried out by a Muslim-hating maniac.
Thara Uddin was the other victim of the Morel rampage
“This incident is totally, in my opinion — maybe I’m wrong — a hate crime,” said Misba Abdin, 47, a community leader in the neighborhood.
He added that the theory a parking dispute sparked the killing was “totally gossip.”
Uddin’s nephew, Rezwan Uddin, 27, agreed.
The muslim Community mourns the killing of revered Queens imam
“There is no conflict (between Muslims and Hispanics). We see it as a hate crime.”|
He added that both the imam and Uddin didn’t speak English well and were quiet and pious, so it was unlikely to him that either was personally involved in a heated dispute over parking.
To Abdin, however, there were conflicts between some Muslims and Latinos.
“There is a tension,” he said.
Leave a Reply