In a bizarre incident alleged by the community as a hate crime, a 26-year-old man, who was high on drugs, ran into the Jamaica Muslim Center April 19 and punched two people who had assembled at the mosque for afternoon prayer, sending one of the elderly victims to hospital.
Akhter Hussain, secretary of JMC, said that the man ran into the mosque screaming ‘Allah Allah’ and claimed he is ‘a prophet’ and started walking between aisles while everybody was standing up during mid prayer.
After a while the man identified by police as Michael Voyard, started asking people to give him a Quran but no one responded since everyone was busy praying at that time. When the Imam of the mosque went to do Ruku (bowing down) and congregants followed him, Voyard started beating a 69-year-old man, identified as Salem Yafai, in his head and knocked him unconscious, leading to the breakup of the prayer. Another younger also suffered minor injuries.
When police arrived at the scene following a 911 call, Voyard took off his clothes and ran away, but was eventually caught by police. He was charged with assault and criminal mischief.
Daily News quoted a police source as saying that Voyard admitted that he was high on synthetic marijuana, known as K2, and cocaine.
The Queens district attorney did not consider the attack by Voyard as a bias crime and was released on bail, according to news reports.
But New York makers like Assemblyman David Weprin did not rule out the possibility of its being a hate crime. “I am angered and disappointed each time I hear about an incident like the one that took place at the Jamaica Muslim Center on Tuesday. Violent attacks at places of worship cannot be taken lightly, and I’d like to join the Jamaica Muslim Center and Council member Rory Lancman in calling for the NYPD to investigate a possible bias motive for this crime” Weprin said in a statement. “A hate crime against one of us is a hate crime against all of us, an assault on our inclusive New York values, and a threat to our identity as Americans,” he said.
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