Probers eye bike-pedaling relative in shocking shooting death of NJ imam: sources

Metro

By Craig McCarthy and Amanda Woods

Investigators are probing whether a bike-pedaling relative may have been behind the shocking shooting death of a popular Newark imam outside his mosque last week, law enforcement sources say.

A family member is being eyed in the cold-blooded Jan. 3 murder of imam Hassan Sharif, 52, based on tips from local residents, a source told The Post on Friday.

The married religious leader and dad was preparing for daily prayers outside Masjid Muhammed at Camden Street and South Orange Avenue when he was gunned down around 6:15 a.m., authorities and sources said at the time. 

A source told WNBC that the possible suspect was captured on surveillance video pedaling away from the scene on a bike.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin acknowledged hours after the deadly violence that the crime triggered a “heightened sense of fear and anxiety” for many “in light of global events and with a rise in violence directed at many communities,” given the Israel-Hamas war.

But “the evidence collected thus far does not indicate that this was an act motivated by bias or an act of domestic terrorism,” he said.

A spokesman for the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office told The Post on Friday that no arrests have been made and that the case is subject to “an active and ongoing investigation.”

The spokesman did not confirm the possible link to a family member or any other details. 

Sharif was listed among the 2022-2023 advisory board members for the mosque’s Social Services and Health Wellness program. He was the resident imam of Masjid Muhammad for about five years and was a community advocate who protested against gun violence.

In another brush with death about five months ago, Sharif was getting out of his car for morning prayers when a man put a gun to his head, the imam posted to Facebook in August. 

Sharif wrote that he fought off the gunman and grabbed the gun out of his clutches. He tried to open fire as the suspect ran off, but the gun jammed, he recounted. 

“I will not be intimidated by anyone of you punks who thought it was ok to come up with this plan or to put the idea in this young man’s mind,” Sharif wrote.

Sharif was also among a group of interfaith leaders who attended a climate change protest in Newark in April 2022, the Jewish Standard reported at the time.

He had also worked as a transportation security officer at Newark Liberty International Airport since 2006 and was a married father and avid boxer, WNBC reported.

Essex County CrimeStoppers is offering a $25,000 reward to anyone with information on the slaying.

In a statement hours after the shooting, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said his prayers were with the imam.

“At this point, we do not have any information about the perpetrators or motivations behind this incident, but I know law enforcement will provide updates as appropriate,” Murphy said.

“At a time when the Muslim community is concerned by an increase of bias incidents and crimes, I want to assure the Muslim community and people of all faiths that we will do everything in our power to keep all residents safe, especially in or near our houses of worship.”