A New Jersey imam was gunned down outside his mosque before dawn Wednesday, leaving authorities hunting for a shooter and saying they’ve found no evidence yet that an anti-Muslim bias played a part in the shooting.
According to the BBC, Imam Hassan Sharif was in his car when he was shot more than once at about 6 a.m. near the Masjid-Muhammad Mosque in Newark, the state’s largest city, Essex County Prosecutor Ted Stephens said at a news conference.
He was taken to a nearby hospital but died in the afternoon.
“The evidence collected thus far does not indicate that this was an act motivated by bias or an act of domestic terrorism,” New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin told reporters.
He added that investigators normally would “not go public with this type of information so early in our process” but that a rise in bias against the Muslim community compelled them to reveal their preliminary findings.
“I know that in light of global events and with a rise in bias directed at many communities we’re experiencing across our state – particularly the Muslim community – there are many in New Jersey right now who are feeling a heightened sense of fear or anxiety at the news of this slaying,” he said.
