An imam who was shot on Wednesday outside a mosque near New York has died, a US official told AFP.

Police in the city of Newark, New Jersey, did not give a motive for the incident.

"Hassan Sharif was a Transportation Security Officer at Newark Liberty International Airport since 2006," said Lisa Farbstein, a spokeswoman for the United States Transportation Security Administration where Sharif worked.

"We are deeply saddened to learn of his passing and send our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues."

Newark Public Safety Director Fritz Frage had earlier confirmed "police responded to a call of a male shot" Wednesday morning.

Officers confirmed that the man was the imam, and that the incident happened outside a mosque. An investigation is underway.

Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, there has been an increase in Islamophobic and anti-Semitic attacks across the United States.

Images published by the New Jersey chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) showed police vehicles deployed outside the Masjid Muhammad-Newark mosque, a two-story yellow and green complex.

At a news conference, state Attorney General Matt Platkin said investigators still don't know the motive behind the shooting. 

"While we are not yet at liberty to discuss the progress of our investigative efforts, the evidence collected thus far does not indicate that this was an act motivated by bias or an act of domestic terrorism," Platkin said. "While we ordinarily do not go public with this type of information so early in our process, we know, and I know, that in light of global events, and with a rise in bias directed at many communities we're experiencing across our state, but particularly the Muslim community, there are many in New Jersey who are fearing a heightened sense of fear, or anxiety, at the news of this slaying."   

"If there's any evidence that this was anything, broadly speaking, a hate crime, Islamophobia, anything in that lane, it is completely reprehensible, unacceptable in the state of New Jersey, and we will take whatever actions we need to take. But again, that's assuming it's the case. I do not have confirmation that it is the case. But I will say this -- we pray for the imam and his family, certainly, fervently," Gov. Phil Murphy said. 

"I'm heartbroken by the shooting death of Imam Hassan Sharif. I am closely following updates as Newark and county police investigate and I'm hopeful justice will be served swiftly. My heart is with the members of Masjid Muhammad and the entire NJ Muslim community," Sen. Cory Booker wrote on X.