Albuquerque police arrest man in fatal shootings of two Muslim men

Aug. 9—The Albuquerque Police Department announced it has made an arrest in the killings of two of four Muslim men — part of a string of shooting deaths that had set the city on edge for the past two weeks.

In a Tuesday news conference, police said Muhammad Syed, 51, was arrested in connection with the deaths of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, an official with the city of Española, and Aftab Hussein, 41. Albuquerque police said Syed is being investigated in connection with the two other fatal shootings.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Raúl Torrez said his office planned to file murder charges against Syed in the two deaths.

Albuquerque Police Deputy Commander Kyle Hartsock said Syed is from Afghanistan and came to the U.S. within the past several years. Officials said they believed he has lived in Albuquerque for five or six years.

Hartsock said Syed has made a statement, and his sons were questioned and released.

Police said Syed was detained Monday night in Santa Rosa, but provided few other details about how he was apprehended.

Hartsock said firearms were removed from Syed's home in Southeast Albuquerque, adding investigators believe two may have been used in the shootings of Hussein and Hussain.

The announcement that an arrest had been made came early Tuesday afternoon from Chief Harold Medina's Twitter account, and stated police have tracked down a car wanted in connection to the killings. The tweet added the driver of the car was detained and is the primary suspect in slayings, which have struck fear in Albuquerque's Muslim community.

In November, 62-year-old Mohammad Ahmadi was found dead in a parking after being shot, according to a police report summary.

His death was followed by the killings of three other Muslim men in the span of a few weeks — Aftab Hussein on July 26 ; Muhammad Afzaal Hussain on Aug. 1; and 25-year-old Naeem Hussain, who was shot to death Friday night.

This is a developing story and will be updated.