NY Man Made Threats Against North Brunswick Muslim Leader, Charged: Prosecutor

SOUTH BRUNSWICK, NJ - A man from Bronx, New York was charged in connection with making threats against a Muslim religious leader, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone and Chief Joseph Battaglia of the North Brunswick Police Department said Thursday.

On Friday, May 26, North Brunswick Police Department was alerted to a threat received by a local religious leader, or Imam. The Spiritual Director for the New Brunswick Islamic Center, located in North Brunswick, received multiple threats via text messages, Ciccone said.

These messages were explicit and credible. The staff of the Islamic Center communicated with the North Brunswick Police Department to exchange information and furthered the investigation, Ciccone said.

The prosecutor’s office, police department and the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness conducted an investigation in which Khaliyk L. Sellers, 40, of the Bronx, NY, was identified as the perpetrator.

Sellers was apprehended without incident in Pennsylvania by the Chester Township Police Department and charged with Terroristic Threats on May 27, Ciccone said.

Sellers faces additional charges in Pennsylvania since several weapons were recovered when Chester Township Police Department arrested him.

The investigation is active and continuing. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Trokovich of the North Brunswick Police Department at (732) 545-3200.

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