Albuquerque Muslim community fights to keep suspected serial killer in jail

The Albuquerque Islamic community is fighting to keep a man suspected of killing four Muslim men behind bars. 

Muhammad Syed, an Afghan refugee who has been in the U.S. for five years, is suspected of killing four people between November and August. 

Though Syed is suspected of killing four, he has only been charged with two counts of murder: the fatal shootings of Aftab Hussein, 41, on July 26 and Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, on August 1. 

He is the primary suspect in the murders of Muhammad Zahir Ahmadi, 62, last November and the Aug. 5 death of Naeem Hussain, 25.

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According to a criminal complaint, police determined that bullet casings found in Syed’s vehicle matched the caliber of the weapons believed to have been used in two of the killings.

They also found that casings from the crime scenes were linked to guns found at Syed’s home and in his vehicle.

According to Ahmad Assed, president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico, Albuquerque Muslims are struggling to understand why the men were killed and whether more attacks were planned.

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“Not knowing more about the motive, we are at a disadvantage in understanding whether that was what was planned, that was it, or whether more victims were on the radar,” Assed said.

New Mexico Muslim leaders have cited 2020 surveillance video allegedly showing Syed slashing tires outside of a mosque as reason for him to stay behind bars. The victim of the slashing declined to press charges – but her brother-in-law, Muhammad Zahir Ahmadi, was shot and killed in November.

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According to court documents, Syed has also been accused of domestic violence incidents with his son, his wife and his future son-in-law. Those cases were subsequently dropped because the alleged victims declined to press charges.

The Afghan refugee denied any involvement in the crimes when he was arrested during a traffic stop over 100 miles from his home on Monday. Syed claimed that he was driving to Houston to build a new life for his family over fear about the killings. 

Family members told reporters that Syed previous worked as a truck driver but had not been employed in a long time.  According to a criminal complaint, Syed claims that he fought against the Taliban.

Syed will attend a court appearance on Monday, when a judge will consider the prosecutor’s motion to detain Syed without bond pending trial.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.