NEWARK, NJ – Early Wednesday morning, Imam Hassan Sharif was shot multiple times outside Masjid Muhammad-Newark, on South Orange Avenue and Camden Street.
Newark police responded to the shooting at 6:15 AM, shortly after the mosque’s scheduled 6 AM Fajr prayer service.
Sharif, who had been an imam at the mosque for nearly five years, was critically injured and later succumbed to his injuries at University Hospital around 2:20 PM.
New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Plotkin and Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Fragé stated that there is currently no evidence suggesting the shooting was motivated by bias.
Imam Sharif was also a security officer for the Transportation Security Administration at Newark Airport since 2006. The investigation into this incident is ongoing.