QUEENS — The NYPD released new footage Wednesday showing the suspects accused of beating a Muslim man outside a mosque in Hollis last week.
Mohamed Rasheed Khan, 59, was leaving the Center for Islamic Studies on Jamaica Avenue last Wednesday around 10:30 p.m. when he was brutally attacked by three young men, police said.
The suspects knocked him off his bike and punched him in the face and head multiple times without saying anything, according to the NYPD.
Khan was wearing his traditional Islamic attire at the time of the assault and the three men did not take anything from him.
The NYPD Hate Crime Unit is investigating the case as a possible bias incident, authorities said.
In the video released Wednesday — which was captured about 15 minutes after the attack — the suspects can be seen hanging out in front of a deli about a block away from the mosque, police said.
Khan, an American citizen of Guyanese descent, suffered multiple lacerations to his face as well as a concussion and brain swelling, police said.
He was scheduled to undergo reconstructive surgery Monday at Jamaica Hospital, according to CAIR-NY. The outcome of the surgery was not immediately clear.
A friend of Khan who witnessed the incident saw the assailants laughing as they left the scene of the attack, said Afaf Nasher, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations of New York (CAIR-NY).
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) announced Wednesday that it is offering a $2,500 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those who assaulted Khan.
“No one should be singled out for their religious or ethnic identity," said Evan Bernstein, ADL New York regional director in a statement. "We hope to send a message that anti-Muslim acts have no place in New York City or America.”
Newly released pictures show faces of two suspects accused of attacking a Muslim man last week. (NYPD)
The suspects, described as being in their teens, fled on Jamaica Avenue towards Francis Lewis Boulevard, according to the NYPD. One of them was wearing a white hooded sweatshirt, white pants and white sneakers, the second suspect was also wearing a white hooded sweatshirt, and the third man was wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, black pants and white sneakers, officials said.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477).
