A man is now being questioned in connection with shooting of a Bangladeshi imam Maulana Akonjee and his associate in broad daylight last weekend.
Police took the man into custody Sunday as he approached a vehicle that police had been watching. He appears to match the description of the suspected shooter, a news report citing a senior police official said.
The man has not been arrested or charged. The police official described the investigation as ongoing.
Imam Maulana Akonjee, 55, and his assistant imam, 64-year-old Thara Uddin, were walking home from the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid mosque in Ozone Park in Queens Saturday afternoon when they were shot and killed, a crime that shocked the Muslim community.
A surveillance video shows a gunman approach both men from behind and fire shots from a handgun, after which he runs away from the scene with gun still in his hand. Both victims, shot from point-blank range, fell to the ground.
Police also released a sketch of the shooter Sunday, showing a dark-haired, bearded man wearing glasses.
There was no immediate establishing of the motive for the shootings, New York Police Department (NYPD) Deputy Inspector Hank Sautner told a news conference after the incident.
The shooting prompted a public protest with calls for justice and a thorough probe into the incident.
