Hundreds gathered Monday for the funeral of a revered Muslim imam and his assistant who were gunned down on a Queens street over the weekend. With many holding signs reading 'Muslim Lives Matter' Mayor Bill de Blasio told mourners, "An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us." Queens reporter Ruschell Boone has the story.
The mourners came from all over the city many of them Muslims shaken by the murders of Imam Maulama Akonje and his assistant Thara Uddin.
They listened as local and city leaders told them they stood with the community, and cheered when Mayor de Blasio vowed the NYPD would get to the bottom of the shooting.
"When we see two innocent men, two good men, two men of the cloth killed in such a violent manner, it pulls at all our hearts, all our souls," the mayor said. "And we too are focused on justice. For all those here who want justice, we want justice too. And we will get justice for this community."
Public Advocate Leticia James, city Comptroller Scott Stringer, Congressman Gregory Meeks also attended the traditional Islamic service held outdoors not far from where the killings took place.
Some in the crowd held signs saying, 'Muslim lives Matter' evidence of how the killings have jolted the Muslim community.
"What kind of coward shoots two innocent men from behind?" asked one.
Speaker after speaker demanded justice for the victims, and urged the police to investigate the killings as a hate crime. Many mourners agreed, although at the time of the funeral, the police said the motive behind the killings was not clear.
"Nobody is going to come from behind and shoot for no reason," said another. "This is definitely a hate crime."
"We ask you to join us in making sure that no one, no one in America is subject to this kind of brutality because of his race, religion or ethnicity," said one speaker.
The Imam was walking with his assistant following afternoon prayers Saturday when they were shot at close range near 79th Street and Liberty Avenue.
"This crime was premeditated," said Nihad Awad, Executive Director and Co-founder of the Council on American-Islamic Relations. "We as a national civil rights organization we applaud the efforts of NYPD
Now that the service is over, they want to see the person responsible for pulling the trigger behind bars.