Jan. 7, 1965 - The shooting of a Black Muslim who broke away from the Fruit of Islam Mosque No. 7 in Harlem to form his own mosque may have been sparked by his insistence on hanging a picture of the prophet Mohammed in the new worship hall, an empty Bronx store.
Assistant Bronx District Attorney David Blatt said today the wounded man, Benjamin Brown, 31, had hung the picture without permission of the Black Muslim organization.
Brown, a city corrections officer, was in fair condition today at Jacobi Hospital, Bronx, with a wound in the left shoulder. The suspected assailants were recognized by Brown’s companions and were picked up at 3 o’clock this morning at their homes. They were (from r. to l.) Norman Butler, 22, known by his Muslim name of Norman 3X; Thomas Johnson, 30, or Thomas 15X; and William Gaines, 27, Willie 8X. Blatt said Johnson admitted firing the shot, and the weapon, a Winchester repeating .22 rifle, was found in his home.
Johnson was described as one of the “main enforcers” of the Black Muslims. Blatt said Brown might have been more seriously injured or killed had not the 15-shot rifle jammed after the first shot.
Blatt said Brown pulled away from the Harlem No. 7 Mosque “because they are inclined to violence, and he is a man of peace.” Temple No. 7 was led by Malcolm X before his break with the Nation of Islam earlier this year.
Brown is married, the father of two young boys and a girl. His wife, Joan, said she did not know he was involved with the Black Muslim movement in any way.
The three suspects were booked at the Bathgate precinct for felonious assault and Sullivan Law violation. Bronx Criminal Court Judge Francis X. O’Brien held them without bail for a hearing Jan. 22
Johnson was arrested three times in 1959 on narcotics charges and served eight months, Blatt said.
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