One man is suspected in the killings of Muslim men in Albuquerque. Police
Though authorities are still searching for a motive and working to confirm whether they’re all related, police have arrested 51-year-old Muhammad Syed, describing him as the “primary suspect.”
Tips pointed investigators toward Syed, who police believe was in possession of at least two firearms that matched evidence from two of the crime scenes, according to Kyle Hartsock, deputy commander of the city police department’s criminal investigations division.
One of the firearms recovered in his home has been linked to bullet casings found at the scenes of two of the killings, while casings from a handgun found in his car were linked to one of the scenes, according to the arrest affidavit.
The killings took place between November 2021 and August of this year, with the latest three occurring within the span of two weeks.
Police said that three of the victims — Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, Aftab Hussein, 41, and Mohammad Zaher Ahmadi, 62 — were “ambushed with no warning, fired on and killed.” A fourth man, 25-year-old Naeem Hussain, was shot and killed after attending a funeral for Hussain and Hussein.
On July 26, police responded to Rhode Island Street, where they found Aftab Hussein with multiple gunshot wounds, lying next to a car. Detectives learned that the gunman had waited behind a bush near the driveway where the victim usually parked his vehicle and fired through the bush multiple times when Hussein got out of his vehicle, according to the complaint.
On August 1, police got a call about a drive-by shooting near the intersection of Cornell Drive and Garfield Avenue. They found Muhammad Afzaal Hussain with multiple gunshot wounds, the complaint states.
The suspect, Syed, is being charged with two of the homicides: the July 26 killing of Aftab Hussein and the August 1 killing of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, according to the police.
As for the two other killings, police said there is evidence that Syed as the “most likely person of interest or suspect” in those as well, Hartsock said.
According to the complaint, Syed denied any involvement in the killings during an interview with police on Tuesday.
How the investigation unfolded
Police first noticed similarities between the deaths of Aftab Hussein and Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, which took place just days apart.
“We were able to relate the casings found on both the scenes that are likely fired from the same firearm,” Hartsock said. “We quickly started looking at other cases that could be similar and identify that there might be a really active public threat.”
The shootings spurred police to examine whether they were connected to a killing that happened November 7, 2021. That day, officers found an Afghan man, Mohammad Ahmadi, with a gunshot wound in the parking lot behind the business he ran with his brother.
As the investigation unfolded, another killing happened just before midnight on August 5 in the area of Truman Street and Grand Avenue where police found Naeem Hussain dead from a gunshot wound.
Police increased patrols near mosques and other areas and the governor sent state police to the city.
Police released…
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