Man arrested in stabbing of imam during NJ service

CNN  — 

A 32-year-old man has been arrested in the stabbing of an imam at a mosque in New Jersey on Sunday, according to a news release from the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office.

Serif Zorba was arrested for allegedly stabbing Imam Sayed Elnakib of the Omar Mosque in Paterson, New Jersey. Elnakib, who is in stable condition, was stabbed during the first prayer of the day around 5:30 a.m. while the congregation was kneeling, mosque spokesperson Abdul Hamdan told CNN.

Surveillance video of the incident shows a group of worshippers at the mosque positioned in five long rows. As they knelt down in prayer, a person wearing a hoodie in the third row moved to the front of the room, stepping over other worshippers, and then thrust his right hand into the back of the kneeling imam, the video shows.

The congregation then rose together, and the assailant tried to push through the crowd and flee out of the back of the mosque, the video shows.

Zorba is charged with first-degree attempted murder, third-degree possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and fourth-degree unlawful possession of a weapon, the release reads.

He will appear at the Central Judicial Processing Court today at 1:30 p.m., the prosecutor’s office said.

Bulent Can, a senior assistant prosecutor from the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, told CNN they are still investigating the motive. It is unclear if Zorba has retained an attorney.

The maximum sentence for his alleged crimes is around 26 years, according to the release.