United States: In the case of four Muslim men killed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, police made a significant development on Tuesday, charging an Afghan man who is also a Muslim with two murders and serving him as a prime suspect. designated as. In other murders in which the whole neighborhood was on the edge.
Muhammad Syed, 51, was caught the day before following a traffic stop more than 100 miles away, according to officials.
Three out of four ambushes were fired in the past two weeks. According to Police Chief Harold Medina, it is still unclear whether the fatalities should be labeled as hate crimes, serial killings, or both.
According to the police, the investigators identified Syed, who has been living in the US for nearly five years after receiving information from the city's Muslim community.
A vague "interpersonal conflict" was one of the possible motivations being investigated by police.
Deputy Police Commander Kyle Hartsock remained silent when asked whether Sunni Muslim Syed was upset that his daughter had married a Shia Muslim. "The motivations are still being explored to fully understand what they are," he said.
The president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico, Ahmed Assed, acknowledged that "a wedding took place," but issued a warning against drawing any conclusions about the motives of the suspect, who he claims sometimes used to visit the center's mosque. used to visit
Knowing where we were a few days ago, where we are compared to now, is an incredible sense of relief, he said. "Life is completely upended."
It was still unclear how Syed and the victim were related to each other and to each other. Police are probing how they came into contact before the shootout.
President Joe Biden expressed concern over the killings, saying they "have no place in America." He also created a stir among Muslim communities across America. Some felt uncomfortable and restricted their movements.
Muhammad Imtiyaz Hussain, brother of one of the victims, Muhammad Afzal Hussain, expressed relief after learning of the arrest before the suspect's identity was revealed, but demanded more information about the attacker and his motivation. He said that this gives us hope that eventually the truth will come out. "We must understand why," It was not yet clear whether Syed had a lawyer who could speak in his place.
Pakistani national Naeem Hussain (25) was murdered on Friday night. He died just days after two other Pakistani members of the same mosque, 27-year-old Muhammad Afzal Hussain and 41-year-old Aftab Hussain.
The first is the murder of 62-year-old Afghan Mohammad Ahmadi in November.
According to officials, Syed is currently accused of killing Aftab Hussain and Muhammad Afzal Hussain as bullet shells were found from a gun found at their house.
Although charges have not yet been laid in the deaths of Naeem Hussain and Ahmadi, investigators believe Syed to be the prime suspect.
Police claim that on Monday, as they were preparing to search Syed's Albuquerque home, they saw him drive in a Volkswagen Jetta that they believe was involved in at least one murder. was.
Officers followed him until they pulled him into Santa Rosa, which is about 110 miles east of Albuquerque. Police said they found several guns in his house and car.
According to officials, Syed's sons were questioned and then released.
Officials said prosecutors plan to add a federal case and expect to file murder charges in state court.
After Sunnis, Shias are the majority Muslims. Anila Abad, secretary general of the Islamic Center, said the two Muslim communities in New Mexico have friendly relations. "Our Shia community has always supported us, and we, the Sunnis, have always supported them," she said.
Muhammad Afzal Hussain, a field organizer for Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury's campaign.
He described him as a city planner who "believed in democracy and social change, and who believed that, indeed, we could build a brighter future for our communities and our world." "Muhammad was kind, hopeful, optimistic," she said.
A year after Afghanistan war, Biden struggles to find footing
TTP Top commander killed in Afghan bombing
UN Report: More than 120 killed, wounded recently in Afghanistan