Albuquerque police identify suspect in possible New Mexico serial killings

Law enforcement officials in New Mexico identified 51-year-old Muhammad Syed as the primary suspect in a string of killings of Muslim men in Albuquerque over the past nine months. 

Syed was arrested on Monday evening and will be charged in two of the murders for allegedly shooting and killing 41-year-old Aftab Hussein on July 26 and 27-year-iold Muhammad Afzaal Hussain on Aug. 1.

Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina Page said detectives are still investigating and working with the district attorney on determining whether charges will be filed for the two other murders, in which Syed is a suspect. 

Police arrested Syed as he was leaving his home on Monday evening in a Volkswagen Jetta that authorities believe was used in two of the murders. His car and home were then searched. 

“Detectives discovered evidence that shows the offender knew the victims to some extent and an interpersonal conflict may have led to the shootings,” the Albuquerque Police Department said on Tuesday. 

The gun that was used in at least two of the murders was also found in Syed’s home, police said. 

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Four men in total – all Muslims from South Asia – have been ambushed, shot, and killed in Albuquerque since November 2021. 

The most recent murder took place on Friday evening, when Naeem Hussain, a Muslim man from Pakistan, was discovered fatally wounded in the area of Truman Street and Grand Avenue. 

On Aug. 1, the third victim, local city planner Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, was gunned down, police said. And before then, 41-year-old Aftab Hussein was fatally wounded on July 26, 2022.

Several months before that on Nov. 7, 2021, 62-year-old Mohammad Ahmadi was discovered shot and killed in the rear parking lot of a halal café he owned with his brother on San Mateo Boulevard, according to city officials and local affiliate KRQE-TV. 

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Syed’s sons have also been questioned and released, police said. 

Syed is originally from Afghanistan and has had a number of domestic violence and other misdemeanor charges over the last few years, police said on Tuesday. 

The tip that led to Syed’s arrest came from the Muslim community after pictures of the car were released to the public, police said. 

“I’m relieved that a primary suspect in the killings of Muslim men in Albuquerque is in custody,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham tweeted on Tuesday. “My deepest gratitude goes out to the law enforcement officers involved for their tireless work, and my heart goes out to the victims, their loved ones, and all those in the community.”