An imam was stabbed, on Sunday, while leading the “fajr” (Dawn) prayer at Omar Mosque in Paterson, New Jersey.
The offender was soon restrained by worshippers, according to local officials.
🔴 أثناء سجوده.. طـcـن إمام مسجد في مدينة باترسون الأمريكية#الجزيرة_مباشر | #أمريكا pic.twitter.com/fANXIRgC5J
— الجزيرة مباشر (@ajmubasher) April 10, 2023
Serif Zorba, a 32-year-old suspect, has been detained and is facing allegations of attempted first-degree murder and possession of weapons, while the reasons for the attacks are still unknown.
The 65-year-old Imam Sayed Elnakib was taken right away to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center, in Paterson.
Mayor of Paterson, André Sayegh, visited Elnakib at the hospital on Sunday afternoon and said that the imam was doing well despite “suffering some significant wounds.”
At the time of the incident, there were around 200 worshippers at the mosque.
According to National Public Radio, “Paterson is home to one of the highest Muslim populations in the U.S., with estimates of Muslims making up about 25,000 to 30,000 of the city’s more than 150,000 people.”