COLUMBUS — Columbus police have confirmed that a body found last week inside a van on a wooded lot at a Northeast Side business on Christmas Eve was that of a missing imam, and the case has been ruled a homicide.
Mohamed Hassan Adam, 48, was a longtime imam at Masjid Abu Hurairah mosque on the Northeast Side.
Police are asking the public for help solving the crime.
Community members said the imam had been missing since Wednesday and his body was found in the 1400 block of Windsor Avenue Friday afternoon.
His death was the 198th homicide of 2021 in Columbus, police said.
The investigation is still in the early stages and haven’t released any information on a possible motive, Sgt. James Marable of the Homicide Unit said.
The Ohio chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations and its national headquarters on Friday announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a suspect.
Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to call the Homicide Unit at 614-645-4730 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS (8477).
Adam’s death was the second homicide of the day in the city.
A 32-year-old man was arrested and charged with murder after police say he stabbed another man to death during an argument on the Northwest Side early Friday morning, Marable said.
Officers called to the 200 block of Hedgerow Road at 6:16 a.m. on a report of a disturbance found Pradeep Anand suffering from what appeared to be stab wounds.
Robin Sebastian was found nearby, also injured, Marable said.
Both men were taken to Riverside Methodist Hospital where the 33-year-old Anand died just before 1:00 p.m.
The two men knew each other and were arguing when Sebastian allegedly stabbed Anand, Marable said.
One man was killed and another man was hurt in a shooting Sunday night at a Grove City hotel, according to a report by WBNS 10-TV.
The television stations reported that the men were shot in the parking lot of the Comfort Inn on Marlane Drive, just after 10:30 p.m.