On a summer afternoon in Queens, New York, 64-year-old Thara Uddin, a Bangladeshi man, was walking home after afternoon prayers. It was Saturday, August 13, 2016, and he was in the company of his friend and religious leader, 55-year-old Imam Maulana Akonjee. The two men, both dressed in religious attire, were walking near the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid in the Ozone Park neighborhood when a lone gunman approached them from behind.
Without a word, the assailant raised a pistol and shot both men in the head at close range, a shocking act of violence in the middle of the day. Both men were rushed to a nearby hospital, but their injuries were too severe, and they were pronounced dead. The killer fled the scene, leaving a community in fear and mourning.
The brazen nature of the attack sent ripples of fear through the local Muslim community, with many immediately suspecting that the two men were targeted because of their faith. The New York Police Department launched an intensive investigation. A key piece of evidence emerged from surveillance video that captured the gunman fleeing in a dark-colored SUV. A crucial break in the case came from an seemingly unrelated incident. About ten minutes after the shooting and three miles away, the same SUV was involved in a hit-and-run with a bicyclist. Police were able to identify the vehicle and traced it to a Brooklyn address.
Detectives set up surveillance and waited. Late the next day, a man, later identified as 35-year-old Oscar Morel, entered the vehicle. When police approached, Morel attempted to escape by ramming his car into the detectives' vehicle but was ultimately apprehended. A search of his home uncovered a. 38 caliber revolver and clothing that matched what the gunman was seen wearing in the surveillance footage. Ballistic tests later confirmed that the revolver was the weapon used to murder both Thara Uddin and Imam Akonjee.
Oscar Morel was charged with first-degree murder, two counts of second-degree murder, and criminal possession of a weapon. Throughout the legal proceedings, the motive for the killings remained a subject of debate. While prosecutors did not officially classify the murders as a hate crime, the community and family members of the victims believed that the men were targeted for their Muslim faith. Morel maintained his innocence throughout his trial. In March 2018, a jury found him guilty on all counts. He was subsequently sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, bringing a measure of justice to the families of Thara Uddin and Maulana Akonjee and a community still reeling from the violent and senseless loss.
