[ad_1]
An imam was stabbed on Sunday whereas he was main early morning prayers at a mosque in Paterson, N.J., by a person who was subdued by worshipers, the authorities and a neighborhood member stated.
The person, whom prosecutors recognized as Serif Zorba, 32, was arrested and charged with first-degree tried homicide, officers stated.
Mr. Zorba was “subdued by congregants” by the point the police arrived on the Omar Mosque after 5:30 a.m., based on a information launch from the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Workplace.
Mayor Andre Sayegh of Paterson recognized the imam as Sayed Elnakib. Prosecutors stated that the imam, 65, sustained “nonfatal stab wounds” and was transported to St. Joseph’s College Medical Heart.
The neighborhood member, Sikander Khan, stated that the assault happened simply after morning prayers started, when a person leaped ahead and stabbed Mr. Elnakib repeatedly.
Mr. Khan, a Paterson metropolis worker who’s co-chairman of the Muslim caucus of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee, stated that Mr. Elnakib underwent surgical procedure and was in secure situation however that he had liver harm.
Mr. Khan stated the attacker, who had been to the mosque to worship earlier than, was unknown to different congregants and was not an “energetic member.”
“No one actually knew him,” Mr. Khan stated. “We don’t know what the motive behind his motion is.”
“He would are available in and sort of sit remoted away from everybody else and didn’t actually talk with anybody,” Mr. Khan added. “We’re extraordinarily baffled and confused about why he would do such a factor. Our prayers are with the imam and his household and need him fast restoration.”
Mayor Sayegh, who visited Mr. Elnakib within the hospital on Sunday, stated that he was hopeful he would make a full restoration. In response to the assault, the mayor added, town would step up its police presence at mosques. “Individuals don’t need to be afraid to hope,” he stated.
Neither he nor the prosecutors supplied any particulars a couple of potential motive.
Alaa Abdelaziz, a Paterson councilman, stated on Fb that he was “deeply saddened” by the assault. “As a neighborhood, it is crucial that we come collectively to help each other and denounce all types of hate and violence,” he stated.
Mr. Zorba, who additionally faces weapons-related expenses, will seem earlier than a Superior Courtroom choose in Paterson on Monday afternoon, prosecutors stated. If convicted on the tried homicide cost, he faces a most of 20 years in New Jersey state jail.
[ad_2]
Source link