October 30, 2023
THOM CARROLL/for PhillyVoice
Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a 65-year-old man outside the Masjid Al Madinah Islamic Center in Upper Darby on Sunday night. Police say the man was killed during an attempted carjacking.
A 65-year-old man was shot and killed during an attempted carjacking outside a Delaware County mosque Sunday night, police said.
The incident happened in the parking lot behind the Masjid Al Madinah Islamic Center in Upper Darby at 7:45 p.m., police said. The man was shot in the chest by someone trying to steal his car. The shooter fled the scene.
The man's car was later recovered by police in West Philadelphia. No suspects have been named as of early Monday morning.
About 150 worshippers were inside the mosque when the shooting occurred. Members of the Masjid Al Madinah Islamic Center were in shock, according to 6ABC. The station reported that he came there to pray.
Police said the incident is being investigated as a random act of violence – not as a hate crime, according to NBC Philadelphia.
There has been an uptick in threats and acts of violence against Muslim, Arab and Jewish people since the Israel-Hamas war began earlier this month. In the Philadelphia area, some members of the Muslim and Arab communities have reported an increase in harassment, saying the last few weeks have felt "like 9/11 all over again" in terms of the frequency of Islamophobic actions and rhetoric. There has also been an increase in incidents of antisemitism both locally and worldwide, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
The man killed Sunday in Upper Darby is survived by four children. He has not yet been named.
