Police on Tuesday announced a breakthrough in the murders of four Muslims in Albuquerque, New Mexico, charging an Afghan man, himself a Muslim, with two of the killings and identifying him as the prime suspect in the other murders that have left the entire community on edge.
Muhammad Syed, 51, was taken into custody a day earlier after a traffic stop more than 100 miles away, authorities said.
Police Chief Harold Medina said it was not yet clear whether the deaths should be classified as hate crimes or serial killings.
Investigators received a tip from the city’s Muslim community that pointed to Syed, who has lived in the U.S. for about five years, police said.
Police were investigating possible motives, including an unspecified “interpersonal conflict.”
When asked if Syed, a Sunni Muslim, was angry that his daughter married a Shia Muslim, Police Deputy Cmdr. Kyle Hartsock didn’t answer directly. He said “the motives are still being fully investigated to find out what they are.”
Ahmad Assed, president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico, cautioned against jumping to any conclusions about the motivation of the suspect, who he said visited the center’s mosque “from time to time.”
“Knowing where we were a few days ago and where we are today is an incredible sigh of relief that we’re breathing,” he said. “Life turned upside down.”
The exact nature of the relationships between Syed and the victims—and the victims with each other—remains unclear. But police said they are still investigating how they crossed paths before the shooting.
The killings drew the attention of President Joe Biden, who said such attacks “have no place in America.” They also sent shivers through US Muslim communities. Some people questioned their safety and restricted their movements.
When he heard about the announcement, Muhammad Imtiaz Hussain, brother of one of the victims, Muhammad Afzal Hussain, said he was relieved but needed to know more about the suspect and the motive.
“It gives us hope that the truth will come out,” he said. “We need to know why.”
It was unclear if Syed had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.
Naeem Hussain was killed on Friday evening and the other three men died in an ambush. Three of the four murders occurred in the past two weeks.
Hussain, 25, is from Pakistan. His death came just days after the deaths of Muhammad Afzal Hussain, 27, and Aftab Hussain, 41, who were also from Pakistan and members of the same mosque.
The earliest case involved the November killing of 62-year-old Mohammad Ahmadi from Afghanistan.
So far, Syed has been charged with the murders of Aftab Hussain and Muhammad Afzal Hussain because shell casings found at the crime scenes were linked to a gun found in his home, authorities said.
Investigators consider Syed the prime suspect in the deaths of Naeem Hussain and Mohammad Zaher Ahmadi, but have not yet filed charges in those cases.
Police said they were about to search Syed’s Albuquerque home on Monday when they saw him drive off in a Volkswagen Jetta that investigators believe was used in at least one of the killings.
Officers followed him to Santa Rosa, about 110 miles east of Albuquerque, where they stopped him. Multiple firearms were recovered from his home and car, police said.
Syed’s sons were questioned and released, according to authorities.
Prosecutors expect to file murder charges in state court and are considering adding a federal case, authorities said.
Anela Abad, secretary general of the Islamic center, said the two Muslim communities in New Mexico enjoy warm ties.
“Our Shia community has always been there for us and we Sunnis have always been there for them,” she said.
Muhammad Afzal Hussain worked as a field organizer for Melanie Stansbury’s Democratic campaign.
“Muhammad was kind, hopeful, optimistic,” she said, describing him as an urban planner “who believed in democracy and social change and who believed that we could actually build a brighter future for our communities and for our world. “
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Dazio reported from Los Angeles and Pham from Winter Park, Florida.
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