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ALBUQUERQUE POLICE DEPARTMENT The slayings of four Muslim men, from left: Mohammad Ahmadi, Naeem Hussain, Muhammad A Hussain and Aftab Hussein stoked fear in the Albuquerque community. |
Albuquerque police arrests a man as the primary suspect in the slayings of killing four Muslim men.
APD detectives and FBI agents arrested Muhammad Syed, 51, who they consider to be the primary suspect in the recent slayings of Muslim men in Albuquerque.
As detectives prepared to search Syed’s home in Southeast Albuquerque on Monday, Syed drove from the residence in the Volkswagon Jetta that detectives believe was used in at least one of the murders. Detectives detained Syed and searched his home and the vehicle. They discovered additional evidence that further tied Syed to the murders.
Detectives discovered evidence that shows the offender knew the victims to some extent and an interpersonal conflict may have led to the shootings.
Syed is being charged with two of the homicides – the July 26, 2022 murder of Aftab Hussein, and the Aug. 1, 2022 murder of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain. Detectives connected those homicides using bullet casings found at the scenes. The gun used in those shootings was discovered during the overnight search of his home.
The killings of the four Muslim men stoked fear in Albuquerque's growing Muslim community who believed there a killer was targeting Muslims.
Originally suspected to be hate crimes, APD Chief Harold Medina told reporters Tuesday the department did not want to label the shootings a hate crime or attribute the actions to a serial killer because "it would've been irresponsible for us as a police department to say that and further drive fear into a community that was already in fear."
Syed came here from Afghanistan six years ago, but it didn’t take long for him to rack up a criminal record in New Mexico. Syed has been arrested for battery and domestic violence dating back to 2017.
Ahmad Assed, the president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico, a mosque that at least three of the victims had attended, said the authorities told him that the suspect was a Sunni Muslim, and may have targeted the victims because he was angry over his daughter marrying a Shiite Muslim. The police did not immediately respond to inquiries about the suspect.
“This has been a tough week for our community,” APD Chief Harold Medina said. “But we all pitched in to solve these crimes and protect a community that felt like it was under attack. We came together, like we always do in Albuquerque.”
Many in the New Mexico city's Muslim community come from Pakistan and Afghanistan, while others are from countries including India, Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Sri Lanka.
During the Trump administration, when concerns grew over bigotry directed against Muslims, officials passed a bill affirming Albuquerque’s status as an “immigrant friendly” city. It restricted federal immigration agents from entering city-operated facilities and city employees from collecting immigration status information.
Medina said detectives will continue to work with the District Attorney’s Office on potential charges for the other two homicides – the Aug. 5, 2022, murder of Naeem Hussain, and the Nov. 7, 2021 murder of Mohammad Zaher Ahmadi.
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