Muslim Doctor Shot and Stabbed on His Way to Pray at Texas Mosque

A Muslim eye doctor was shot and stabbed in the early Sunday morning as he made his way to morning prayers at a Houston mosque.

Worshippers told local television station KTRK that the victim, Arslan Tajammul, got out of his car around 5:30 a.m. and was heading for the doors of Madrasah Islamiah mosque when three men cornered him. Tajammul was stabbed by one of the men and shot twice by another before all three suspects fled on foot.

Police said there was no evidence to indicate that the attack was a hate crime. While officials emphasized that no motive for the attack is known, they also said that they are operating under the assumption that it might have been a botched attempt at a robbery, according to KTRK.

Tajammul, who was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment, is reported to have survived the attack.

"These anti-Muslim attacks need to stop. Innocent people are getting hurt," Mufti Mohammed Wasim Khan, a Madrasah Islamiah official, told Al Jazeera.

"This is what they want, Americans attacking fellow Americans."

Video footage taken at the scene showed confusion from people who had assembled in the early morning hours to pray in the aftermath of the attack.

Among the witnesses of the attack were several children.

"It is very scary right now given the current political climate," said Mohammed Imaduddin, one of the witnesses. "This is a community place, we have kids that come here, we have people young and old come here."

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