Article Author:
The Associated Press
Stefanie Dazio And Mariam Fam
The ambush killing of four Muslim men in Albuquerque, New Mexico shook the community, but information was flooded. A local Muslim man from Afghanistan who knew the victim was arrested, officials said.
Muhammad Said, 51, was arrested Monday after traffic stopped more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) from his home in Albuquerque. He has been charged with murdering two of his victims and has been identified as the prime suspect in two of his other murders, officials announced Tuesday.
The Muslim community breathes an "incredible sigh of relief," said Ahmad Asedo, president of the Islamic Center in New Mexico. "It turned my life upside down."
It wasn't immediately clear if Syed had a lawyer.
Following the first murder last November, three more murders occurred between 26 July and 5 August.
Police Chief Harold Medina said it was not yet clear whether these deaths should be classified as hate crimes or as hate crimes. serial killer or both.
Syed is from Afghanistan and has lived in the United States for about five years, police said.
A police statement said that "the perpetrators had some knowledge of the victims and that the interpersonal conflict may have led to the shootings," but investigators did not know how they might have proceeded.
Said, a Sunni Muslim, is angry that his daughter married a Shia Muslim. Deputy Police Commander Kyle Hartsock did not directly answer when asked specifically if he was. He said, "The motives are still being fully explored to understand what the motives might be." He cautioned against drawing conclusions about Saeed's motives for attending the Center's mosque.
Police said Said had issued a statement but did not provide further details.
The killings drew the attention of President Joe Biden, who said such attacks "have no place in America." They also sent shudders to Muslim communities across the United States. Some questioned their safety and restricted their movements.
``There is no justification for this evil. There is no good reason to take away," Nihad Awad, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, said at a news conference Tuesday in Washington, DC.
One of the earliest incidents, called 'action', was the November killing of Mohammad Ahmadi, 62, from Afghanistan.
Naeem Hussain, a 25-year-old man from Pakistan, was killed Friday night. His death came days after Muhammad Afzar Hussein, 27, and Aftab Hussein, 41, who were also from Pakistan and were members of the same mosque.
Naeem Hussain's brother-in-law, his Ehsan Chahalmi, said he was "a generous, kind, giving, forgiving and loving soul that has been taken from us forever." rice field.
Currently, the side is accused of Aftab Hussein and Muhammad He Afzar He Hussein's murder. A bullet casing found at the crime scene was linked to a gun found at his home, officials said.
Investigators believe Syed is the main suspect in the deaths of Naeem Hussein and Ahmadi, but have not yet filed charges in those cases. More than 200 pieces of information were obtained from the announcement of what appeared to be related. Among them was information from the Muslim community, which the police believed led them to the Sayid family.
Police said they saw him driving away in his Volkswagen Jetta while attempting to search Said's Albuquerque home on Monday.
Police pursued him to Santa Rosa, about 110 miles (177 km) east of Albuquerque, where they held him. Multiple firearms were recovered from his home and car, police said.
Syed's sons were questioned and released, according to authorities.
Prosecutors plan to file murder charges in state court and are considering adding a federal lawsuit, officials said.
Shiites make up his second largest branch in Islam, after Sunnis.
Anila Abad, general secretary of the Islamic Center, said her two Muslim communities in New Mexico enjoy a warm bond.
"Our Shia community has always been there for us. We Sunnis have always been there for them," she said. rice field.
Muhammad Afzar Hussein worked as a field organizer for Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury's campaign.
"Muhammad was kind, hopeful and optimistic," she said, calling him "a man who believed in democracy and social change and could actually build our brighter future." A city planner who believed he could do it." For our community and our world.
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Dazio reported from Los Angeles and Pham from Winter Park, Florida. LA-based AP writer Robert Jablon also contributed to this report.
