“We mourn the deaths of Imam Akonjee and Thara Uddin. Violence can never be the solution,” Marcia Bernicat tweeted on Sunday, a day after the fatal shooting.
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam also condemned the killing in a tweet.
“We condemn killing of Bangladeshi origin Imam in #NYC, cowardly act on peace loving people.”
Imam Maulana Alauddin Akonjee, 55, and his associate Thara Uddin, 64,— both Bangladeshi— were fatally shot by a lone gunman while walking together following afternoon prayers at a mosque in the city.
The motive for the shooting was not immediately known and no evidence has been uncovered that the two men were targeted because of their faith, Reuters reported quoting Tiffany Phillips, a spokesperson for the New York City Police Department.
Even so, police were not ruling out any possibility, she added.
Bernicat in a second tweet said: “Imam Maulana Akonjee stood for peace. We join Bangladeshis to condemn his killing and honor what he stood for.”