Warning: Graphic video
Chilling new video shows the moment a man pretending to be a Muslim worshipper jumps from a crowd during morning prayers at a New Jersey mosque and runs to the front to stab a prominent imam Sunday.
The surveillance footage obtained by The Post on Monday shows about 200 worshippers kneeling in prayer at the Omar Mosque on Getty Avenue in Paterson around 5:30 a.m. when a man in a white hooded jacket and gray pants rises to his feet and quickly makes his way through rows of congregants to reach the imam, 65-year-old Sayed Elnakib.
At the time, the unsuspecting Muslim cleric was leading the congregation in prayer with his back to the crowd.
Moments later, the suspect, identified by the authorities as 32-year-old Serif Zorba, plunged a knife into the imam’s back twice before attempting to make his escape.
But members of the mosque were able to stop Zorba and hold onto him until police arrived to arrest him.
A separate video showed angry congregants pinning Zorba down and roughly pulling him by the hair before he was taken into custody.
The Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office charged Zorba with attempted murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and unlawful possession of a weapon.
The white-hooded man along the far-right side of this frame suddenly ran to the front of the Omar Mosque in Paterson, NJ, and repeatedly plunged a knife into the back of an imam Sunday. @harounramadan_
Serif Zorba, 32, was arrested and charged with attempted murder, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and unlawful possession of a weapon.
Zorba allegedly hid in a crowd of worshippers Sunday morning before attacking imam Sayed Elnakib. @harounramadan_
In video from the mosque, Zorba, dressed in a white hooded jacket on the left, is seen rising to his feet in the crowd of kneeling congregants. @harounramadan_If convicted of all the charges against him, Zorba could be looking at more than 26 years in state prison, the prosecutor’s office said in a press release.
Elnakib was taken to St. Joseph’s University Medical Center to be treated for two stab wounds to the back. He was listed in stable condition and is expected to make a full recovery.
During a press conference Sunday, officials said Zorba is not a member of the mosque but had prayed there in the past.
Authorities so far have not identified a motive behind the violent attack, which occurred during the holy month of Ramadan.
After the stabbing, Zorba attempted to run away but was stopped by members of the mosque, as seen in this video screenshot. @harounramadan_
The 65-year-old imam was taken to a hospital in stable condition to be treated for two stab wounds to the back. @harounramadan_“While it is unclear what motivated the attacker, there is no justification for violence of any kind, especially in a sacred space,” said local Councilman Al Abdelaziz, who represents the area where the mosque is located.
Abdul Hamdan, a spokesman for the mosque, described the imam’s stabbing as an “isolated incident.”
The Paterson mosque will remain open with beefed-up security.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations of New Jersey said there were 152 anti-Muslim incidents in the Garden State last year — the highest number since record-keeping began at the center, which was founded in 1994.
