Web Desk (LTN NEWS): According to media reports, police in Albuquerque, a city in the southern US state of New Mexico, arrested an Afghan Muslim on Tuesday as the “primary suspect” in the deaths of four Muslims, three of whom were from Pakistan. These deaths caused fear in the community and led to more security at mosques and schools.
Muhammad Syed, 51, who also lived in Albuquerque, was charged with two of the murders and was a suspect in the other two.
Four people were shot and killed last week. Three of them were from Pakistan: Naeem Hussain, Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, and Aftab Hussain. The fourth person, Mohammad Ahmadi, was from Afghanistan.
President Joe Biden was very angry about the way the people were killed.
Ahmad Assed, the president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico, to which at least three of the victims went, said that the police were looking into the possibility that the Afghan was motivated to kill because of his religion.
Police officials said they weren’t sure yet, but they had found evidence that an “interpersonal conflict” may have led to the shootings.
Harold Medina, the head of the Albuquerque Police Department, said that it was too early to call the killings to hate crimes or serial killings.
Reports say that Syed moved to Albuquerque from Afghanistan and lived there for five or six years. In the past few years, he had been accused of domestic violence several times, but the charges were later dropped. Reports say that after Syed was arrested, his sons were questioned and then let go.
On Tuesday night, there was a vigil at the mosque for the people who were killed. Residents from the Roman Catholic, Jewish, Sikh, and Mennonite faiths, as well as Muslim leaders, talked about the losses the Muslim community in Albuquerque had to deal with.
Tahir Gauba, who is in charge of the mosque, said, “The last two weeks have been nothing but nightmares.” He also said, “Tonight, the Muslim community will sleep in peace,” referring to the arrest of the suspect.
Michelle Lujan Grisham, the Democratic governor of New Mexico, said that the arrest shows “law enforcement and all partners at their best.” She also thanked the public for giving tips.
Grisham said that the state government would do the right thing for the community.
At the press conference, the governor said, “We are working on the justice side of that equation, which is very important.” “We will do justice, using the full force of the law, and people will have to answer for their actions.”
Last week, police offered a $20,000 reward for information that led to the arrest of the suspect or suspects in the killings.
Kyle Hartsock, the deputy commander of the Albuquerque Police Department, was quoted as saying that “hundreds” of tips from locals led police to the home of the suspect, Syed.
Hartsock said that the police watched Syed get into the Volkswagen Jetta they were looking for before they pulled the car over.
Hartsock said that when the search warrant was carried out on Syed’s home, several guns were found. One gun was found inside the home, and another was found in the car. He said that both have something to do with the shootings of the three Hussains.
Federal agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are working with local and state police on the investigation.
A group in Washington called the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said in a press release that the suspect may have been trying to hurt Shia Muslims.
Nihad Awad, who is the National Executive Director of CAIR, said that the signs of a possible hate crime “bothered” him.
He said, “We’re glad that a suspect in this horrible shooting spree has been caught, and we’d like to thank local state and federal law enforcement for their work.” We hope that the Muslim community in New Mexico will feel relieved and safe when they hear that the violence has stopped.
“We don’t know much about these crimes yet, but what we do know so far makes us worried that the alleged killer may have been going after certain members of the Shia community. If this is true, it is totally wrong, and we want the suspect to be charged with a hate crime if that is the right thing to do.”
“Hateful, sectarian acts of violence against Shia people or anyone else have no place in our communities, our country, or anywhere else. American Muslims are united against all kinds of bigotry, including anti-Shia bias, and they must stay that way.
Albuquerque’s Democratic mayor, Tim Keller, said on Tuesday that local officials plan to work more closely with community members in the future. He said that this was a reminder of how important it is to make close connections and bonds.
Keller said, “We’ve always said we’d be there for each other when we needed it.” “Thank goodness, we have shown this again. Really, what we saw when it came to law enforcement and help was the Albuquerque spirit.”
