Paterson mosque stabbing suspect planned attack, intended to kill imam, police say
The man accused of stabbing an imam during prayer at a Paterson mosque told authorities he had planned to kill the victim, police alleged in an affidavit of probable cause.
Serif Zorba, 32, was one of about 200 worshippers praying at Omar Mosque on Getty Avenue early Sunday morning when authorities say he stabbed the imam, Sayed Elnakib, 65, in the back.
According to the affidavit, obtained by The Record and NorthJersey.com, Zorba subsequently told police that the night before the incident he had devised a plan to kill the imam, allegedly saying he disagreed with the mosque and its leader collecting money in the "name of Islam." Elnakib was taken to St. Joseph's University Medical Center and is in stable condition and expected to recover.
Police said Zorba also stated that he didn't intend to hurt anyone else and had no other plans for violence, but that he didn't like when others offended the Islamic religion.
Zorba is not a regular member of the mosque's congregation, officials said at a press conference, but has been seen there before.
The affidavit also includes witness accounts of the attack. One witness told police he was kneeling in prayer when he heard Elnakib scream in agony. The witness said he then looked up and saw Zorba running away with two knives in his hand. The congregation was able to disarm and subdue Zorba before police arrived at the mosque.
A New Jersey State Police trooper was first to arrive, followed by a Paterson police officer. The responding officers said they saw a crowd of around 100 people outside the mosque. As the suspect was brought outside, the crowd surrounded the officers, yelled obscenities and tried to hit Zorba, police said.
Zorba was charged with first-degree attempted murder and two weapons offenses. He appeared before state Superior Court Judge Vincenzo Stampone on Monday afternoon in a virtual court hearing from the Passaic County Jail. Bill Rohr from the Public Defender's Office entered a not-guilty plea on his behalf. The court said the stabbing suspect initially refused to file for a public defender but said he would do so after the hearing.
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Zorba is scheduled to appear for his detention hearing on Thursday at 9 a.m.
The court affidavit said Zorba lives in an apartment on Getty Avenue, which is about five blocks from Omar Mosque.
No one answered the door Tuesday morning when a reporter went to the apartment, or at any of the other three homes in the building.
The four apartments sit atop a business called the Palestine Supermarket.
A man working in the store on Tuesday said Zorba had lived in the building since the middle of last year. The store employee said Zorba shared the apartment with others, none of whom he has seen since the stabbing.
"I was shocked," said the supermarket worker, who declined to give his name. "He was a very nice guy until this happened."
The worker said Zorba did not show any signs of violence or aggression when he came into the store.
Officials at Mevlana Cami, another Paterson mosque, said Monday that Zorba had previously alarmed people with abnormal behavior.
Mevlana Cami's vice president said Zorba had been attending prayer services there every day since the start of Ramadan. On Friday afternoon, Zorba draped a black scarf over his head and face and remained there unmoving for an hour and a half and then allegedly confronted the imam about wearing a tie.
Staff Writers Hannan Adely and Kaitlyn Kanzler contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ mosque stabbing suspect intended to kill imam, say police
