Afghan man arrested for murder of 4 Muslims in New Mexico

International

oi-Prakash KL

Mexico,
Aug
10:
The
Albuquerque
Police
Department
has
arrested
the
suspect
in
the
ambush
killings
of
four
Muslim
men
in
New
Mexico.

A
man
identified
as
Muhammad
Syed
(51)
was
arrested
on
Monday.
He
was
charged
with
killing
two
victims
and
was
identified
as
the
prime
suspect
in
the
other
two
murders,
authorities
said
as
per
Associated
Press.

The
killings
had
sparked
nationwide
alarm
amongst
Muslim
communities
with
US
President
Joe
Biden
denouncing
the
killing,
saying
“I
am
angered
and
saddened
by
the
horrific
killings
of
four
Muslim
men
in
Albuquerque.”

Syed
was
formally
charged
with
two
of
the
homicides
(Aftab
Hussein,
41,
and
Muhammed
Afzaal
Hussain,
27,)
killed
on
July
26
and
August
1,
respectively,
but
he
is
considered
a
suspect
in
all
four
murders,
Albuquerque
Police
Chief
Harold
Medina
said
at
a
news
conference,
according
to
a
report
on
Reuters.

As
per
the
authorities,
Syed,
who
is
from
Afghanistan,
had
lived
in
the
United
States
for
about
five
years.
“The
offender
knew
the
victims
to
some
extent,
and
an
interpersonal
conflict
may
have
led
to
the
shootings,”
a
police
statement
said.
The
cops
are
now
investigating
how
they
had
crossed
paths.

Syed
allegedly
killed
Nayeem
Hussain,
25,
on
Friday.
It
came
days
after
the
murders
of
Muhammad
Afzaal
Hussain,
27,
and
Aftab
Hussein,
41,
who
were
also
from
Pakistan
and
members
of
the
same
mosque.

On
asking
if
Syed,
a
Sunni
Muslim,
was
upset
over
his
daughter
marrying
a
Shiite
Muslim,
Deputy
Police
Cmdr.
Kyle
Hartsock
did
not
respond
directly
and
said
“motives
are
still
being
explored
fully
to
understand
what
they
are.”

Although
he
acknowledged
that
“there
was
a
marriage”,
he
cautioned
against
coming
to
any
conclusions
about
the
motives
behind
the
murders.

Authorities
have
said
that
at
this
stage,
Syed
is
charged
in
the
killings
of
Aftab
Hussein
and
Muhammad
Afzaal
Hussain
since
bullet
casings
found
at
the
crime
scenes
were
linked
to
a
gun
found
at
his
home.
However,
charges
have
not
been
filed
yet.