CBS2 Exclusive: Queens Man Can't Understand Why Someone Would Kill His Wife
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The husband and son of a murdered Queens woman talked about the loved one they lost Friday as the woman's funeral was held.
The NYPD is offering a reward of $10,000 for information leading to an arrest in the murder of Nazma Khanam, 60, in Jamaica, Queens on Wednesday night.
Her husband, Shamsul Alam Khan, talked exclusively to CBS2's Fatima Rahmatullah.
"I could not save her!" Khan said in sobs.
He could not help but question why anyone would kill his wife.
"Why this happened?" he said.
Khanam, a retired school teacher from Bangladesh, and her husband Khan were walking home after buying groceries. Her husband had fallen behind when police said someone suddenly stabbed Khanam with a knife in her chest just two blocks from their home.
"When I see blood, I am puzzled. I cannot say anything," Khan said.
As Khanam's son grieved, he said his mother was a loving wife, friend and teacher.
"She's very sweet. She doesn't have a problem with anybody else, you know," said Naimul Alam Khan. "So I don't know why the people, you know, went behind my mom, you know – why they tried to kill her?"
As hundreds gathered for Friday prayer and Khanam's funeral, they demanded justice for her and security for the Muslim community.
"We are not bad people," Naimul Alam Khan said. "I lose my main person in my family, so you know, I have no doubt, so I need now justice."
A motive for the attack is still under investigation, but many members of the Muslim community fear the attack may have been a hate crime.
The New York chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations said she was wearing Islamic attire when she was killed.
"Bangladeshi people are peace loving people, we love each, other we don't want any harm to anyone," said Bangladeshi community leader Siddiqur Rahman. "That's why we're here. This is the best place on Earth, so why this is happening? Everyone's asking that question."
Khanam's husband and son late Friday were transporting her body to Bangladesh to be laid to rest where her family resides.
Khanam's nephew, Humayan Kabir, is an NYPD transit officer. He said his aunt was not just a schoolteacher, but a teacher for everyone in the community.
The NYPD Muslim Officer Society tweeted out their condolences, saying it was a member of their organization who lost a loved one.
Khanam and her husband moved to the area from Bangladesh in 2009, but they had just become U.S. citizens in June.
She leaves behind three children and several grandchildren.
Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD's Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782), visit www.nypdcrimestoppers.com or text tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.
