Police: Suspect in imam’s slaying had gun stashed in wall
NEW YORK — The suspect in the “assassination” of an imam and his friend after they left a mosque had the murder weapon stashed in the wall of his basement apartment, investigators said Tuesday.
New York Police Department investigators determined the .38-calibre revolver was the weapon used in the ambush slayings near the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid mosque in the Ozone Park neighbourhood of Queens, a prosecutor told a judge at Oscar Morel’s initial court appearance.
“This was a most horrendous and despicable act that can only be described as as a cold-blooded, premeditated assassination,” Assistant District Attorney Peter McCormack said.
Though the motive remained unclear, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said the attack was being viewed as a possible hate crime.