OZONE PARK — Thousands of mourners gathered Monday afternoon to remember an imam and his assistant who were gunned down in broad daylight in what police are investigating as a possible hate crime.
"All of New York City is with you. We're all mourning with you," Mayor Bill de Blasio said during the funerals for imam Maulama Akonjee, 55, and Thara Uddin, 64, Monday afternoon.
Crowds shouted, "We want justice!" and held signs with phrases like, "We are Muslim. We want peace" and "Muslim lives matter" during the gathering at the Municipal Parking Field at 581 Grant Ave.
"It is a time of pain. This is a pain we all feel," de Blasio said.
.@BilldeBlasio promises more #nypd presence and the crowd roars its approval. "God bless our mayor" one man cries. pic.twitter.com/61UNzPghsw
— Kathleen Culliton (@K_Culliton) August 15, 2016
"We will make sure that whoever did this is brought to justice. That I can guarantee you," he added.
The gunman stalked the two men as they made their way home from the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid mosque at 76-20 Glenmore Ave., sources said. He shot them both in the head near Liberty Avenue and 79th Street about 1:50 p.m., police said.
The two men were pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital, police said.
The gunman fled the scene in a Chevy Trailblazer but clipped a cyclist, sources said. He got out and confronted the cyclist, pulling a gun on him before getting back in and driving off, sources said.
The cyclist took down the license plate number and police were able to track the owner to his East New York home where he was taken into custody Sunday, sources said.
Police were still questioning him as the Monday funeral went ahead. He wasn't immediately charged with the murders, officials said.
It wasn't immediately clear what sparked the shooting.
The NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force is investigating the homicides, officials said.
The funeral was preceded by a smaller gathering at Al-Furqan Jame Masjid mosque. Outside, mourners prayed in the street. They then brought his body out in a casket and put it into a hearse that drove it to the field for the funeral.
Mourners carry the body of Maulama Akonjee to a waiting hearse. (DNAinfo/Trevor Kapp)
Akonjee's body is slated to be sent back to his native Bangladesh and Uddin will be buried in New York, staff at the mosque said.
At the funeral, speakers urged peace and understanding over further violence and animosity.
"We will not tolerate the voices of those who divide us. The message here is that this great man has gone on, but we'll continue his message of love and peace," said Public Advocate Letitia James said.
After the service, the crowd divided itself into rows and prayed.
The crowd assembled itself in rows to begin prayer service. @DNAinfoNY pic.twitter.com/osBBnulhJR
— Kathleen Culliton (@K_Culliton) August 15, 2016
