An imam has died after being shot outside his mosque in Newark, New Jersey, after early morning prayerson Wednesday, according to law enforcement. The incident was reported in the parking lot outside the Masjid Muhammad Newark mosque at around 6:15 a.m, and officials said the victim, Imam Hassan Sharif, was then rushed to University Hospital, where he died from his injuries at about 2:20 p.m. While northjersey.com reported that the motive for the shooting remains unknown, Imam Wahy-ud Deen Shareef, convener of the Council of Imams in New Jersey, said Sharif had previously been attacked at gunpoint outside the mosque several months ago, but he managed to take the gun away from the suspect, who fled and was never caught. Shareef told the outlet that Sharif had served at the Newark mosque for three or four years and was a former boxer. New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin stated that there was no current evidence suggesting the shooting was a hate crime. “At a time when bias incidents against members of the Muslim community are on the rise, we know that this act of gun violence will heighten fears and concerns in our state,” he said. “Every possible angle will, of course, be explored and every lead will be fully investigated to bring the perpetrator or perpetrators to justice.”
