Suspect arrested in killings of 4 Muslim men in Albuquerque

Police have arrested a suspect in the killings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque, N.M..

Muhammad Syed, 51, was tracked down through a Volkswagen Jetta that was spotted near at least one of the crime scenes, police said Tuesday.

Albuquerque Police Deputy Chief of Investigations Cecily Barker holds a flyer with photos of a car wanted in connection with the murders of Muslim men. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis/)

As officers went to search Syed’s home on Monday, he tried to speed away in the Jetta, according to the cops. But he didn’t make it far and was arrested that night.

Police then searched the car and the home and found a gun they believe was used in at least two of the four shootings. Cops said Syed knew the victims.

The fatal shootings took place over the course of nine months, police said. Mohammad Ahmadi, a 62-year-old man from Afghanistan, was killed in November 2021.

Altaf Hussain cries over the grave of his brother Aftab Hussein at Fairview Memorial Park in Albuquerque, N.M., on Friday. (Chancey Bush/)

Three more men were killed in the last three weeks. Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, and Aftab Hussein, 41, were slain days before Naeem Hussain, 25, was shot dead Friday night. All three were from Pakistan. Cops said all four victims were ambushed.

“As with the previous three murders we mentioned on Thursday, there’s reason to believe this death is related to those shootings,” Police Chief Harold Medina said after Naeem Hussain’s murder.

Syed is charged with killings Muhammad Afzaal Hussain and Aftab Hussein, police said Tuesday. Officers are still collecting evidence before charging Syed in the other two shootings.

“This gives us hope that we will have (the) truth come out,” said Muhammad Afzaal Hussain’s brother, Muhammad Imtiaz Hussain. “We need to know why.”

Ahmadi was fatally shot on Nov. 7 at a halal meat business that he ran with his brother, police said.

Aftab Hussein was killed July 26 in the city’s International District, cops said. Muhammad Afzaal Hussain was gunned down Aug. 1 outside his apartment near the University of New Mexico. The two men attended the same mosque.

Police have not released details on the killing of Naeem Hussain beyond saying that it was similar to the first three attacks.

“These hateful attacks have no place in America,” President Biden tweeted last week.

With News Wire Services