Police said a gunman walked up to religious leader, Maulama Akonjee, 55, on Saturday afternoon as he and his assistant, Thara Uddin, 64, were leaving the Al-Furqan Jame Masjid mosque in Ozone Park.
Both men were rushed to Jamaica hospital, where Akonjee, a married father-of-three, was pronounced dead.
His assistant died about fours later.
Imam Akonjee was described as a revered religious leader.
He came to Queens from Bangladesh a little less than two years ago, according to the New York Daily News.
Earlier on Saturday, shortly after the shooting, a crowd of angry Muslim men gathered at the scene insisting it was a hate crime, saying the two men were specifically targeted.
‘That’s not what America is about,’ local resident Khairul Islam told the newspaper.
‘We blame Donald Trump for this … Trump and his drama has created Islamophobia.’
Police said they received multiple 911 calls of two males being shot at the corner of Liberty Avenue and 79 Street around 1.50pm.
Both men suffered gunshot wounds to the back of the head and were rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
Imam Akonjee was pronounced dead at the hospital while his assistant died hours later.
Uddin’s brother, Mashuk Uddin, told the Daily News that a bullet tore through his brother’s brain.
Thara Uddin had also been shot in the chest.
He was on life support at the hospital before he passed away.
The two victims were heading to Uddin’s house when they were attacked.
Mashuk Uddin told the newspaper that he’s ‘very shocked’, adding that his brother had no ‘problems with anybody’.
‘He just goes to the mosque, prays and goes home.’
Around 8pm Saturday outraged members of the Bangladeshi Muslim community held a rally at the site where Imam Akonjee and his associate Uddin were fatally shot.
Police say they haven’t determined a motive for the killings and that there’s no indication the men were targeted because of their faith.
But speakers at the rally in Queens say they fear the men could be victims of a hate crime.