(AP Photo/Ryan Kryska, File)
NEWARK, NJ– An Imam who was shot outside a Mosque in Newark, New Jersey died Wednesday afternoon after being shot earlier that morning in a parking lot. Investigators say he was shot multiple times before he was rushed to a nearby hospital. Essex County Prosecutor Ted Stephens said Imam Hassan Sharif was in his car when he was repeatedly shot near the Masjid-Muhammad Mosque in Newark. Attorney General Matt Platkin says authorities are still searching for the gunman, however there’s no evidence indicating the shooting was related to anti-Muslim bias. Platkin says authorities have beefed up security at houses of worship, ever since the Hamas Israeli war broke out on October 7th. Authorities say the victim had been an Imam at the mosque for the past five years.