Despite arrest, calm doesn't return easily for Albuquerque Muslims
Aug. 10—Relief and a sense of safety don't come easily in the midst of inexplicable tragedy and loss.
When asked if he or his community felt any safer Wednesday now that a suspect has been arrested in the killings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque, Imam Mahmoud Eldenawi said concerns and uncertainty remain.
"We don't have enough information about this guy or what he has done — all of that," he said. "We leave everything to the police."
Eldenawi, the spiritual leader of the Islamic Center of New Mexico, said the level of security around its building remains the same as it was last week, when fears over the slayings in Albuquerque were at an all-time high.
"All security measures are still the same," he said. "Nothing changed."
The suspect in two of the deaths, 51-year-old Muhammad Syed, was arrested Tuesday following an intensive manhunt by Albuquerque police and the FBI after a string of three fatal shootings in the past two weeks. Syed's son, Shaheen Syed, was arrested Tuesday after a special agent with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said he lied about his address on a background check in June 2021 when purchasing two rifles at an Albuquerque gun store, according to a criminal complaint.
The deaths of Mohammad Ahmadi, 62; Aftab Hussein, 41; Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27; and Naeem Hussain, 25, garnered national headlines and riveted the state's largest city after Albuquerque police said there was a strong possibility their deaths were connected.
Albuquerque police and state police apprehended Muhammad Syed in Santa Rosa on Monday night and charged him with the killings of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain and Aftab Hussein. They said they believe Syed is a suspect in the deaths of the other two men as well.
During his interview with law enforcement Tuesday morning, Syed denied any involvement in the killings. According to his criminal complaint, he told police he had known Naeem Hussain since 2016 and recognized Aftab Hussein from parties in the community.
In a criminal complaint, Syed told police he was driving to Houston to look for a new place for his family to live because he wanted to get away from the violence in Albuquerque. He referred to the killings of the Muslim men, according to the complaint.
Syed told police he took only clothing, a pair of shoes and his handgun with him on his drive to Houston.
Bullet casings from the handgun found in Syed's Volkswagen Jetta — found within the vehicle — had a presumptive match to those found at the scene of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain's murder, according to the complaint.
Syed told law enforcement no one uses the handgun but him, the complaint states. Shaheen Syed told officers neither he nor his siblings are allowed to touch the handgun, according to the complaint.
Muhammad Syed also told law enforcement he keeps an AK-47 in a cardboard box under his bed and added he likes the weapon due to having owned one in Afghanistan, where he said he was with the nation's special forces and fought against the Taliban, the complaint stated.
According to a criminal complaint filed by the ATF, Shaheen Syed, 21, stated his current address was Broward County, Fla., when he filled out a form for a background check before purchasing the two rifles.
"The address listed as the current residence of Syed had been occupied by another man for several years, and [law enforcement] did not locate any records indicating Syed had resided at the above referenced address," according to the complaint.
The serial numbers for the firearms Shaheen Syed purchased in June 2021 — included in the complaint — do not match any of the weapons documented in the criminal complaint against his father.
Shaheen Syed is scheduled to appear for a pretrial detention hearing Aug. 15, according to a clerk's minute sheet. The state has filed a pretrial detention motion against his father, court records show.
More than a day after Muhammad Syed's arrest, calm is not easily found within the Muslim community. Muhammad Imtiaz Hussain — the brother of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain — said he is still worried there may be more violence.
He said violence is common in Afghan society, and due to its tribal nature, he said he fears Syed may have connections to those sympathetic to his cause, whatever that may be.
"If he [is] brought to justice, maybe someone will come up and take his revenge [because] people have raised [their] voice against him," Imtiaz Hussain said.
In spite of the tragedy he and his family have faced, Imtiaz Hussain said the support he has received from people in the state has been immense. A GoFundMe page has been created to help cover the costs for his brother's funeral and to fund a school for poor children in Pakistan in Afzaal Hussain's honor. The fundraiser has amassed over $25,000 so far.
"We never thought that we are from another country," he said. "People over here talk that we are from them and we are among them. We belong to them — the feeling that we are one ... these are not my words. I felt it."
Still, while Syed's capture was a sigh of relief, Islamic Center President Ahmad Assed said security levels at the building will stay the same until the judicial process has moved forward.
"I don't know a specific reason other than general concern," he said. "We want the process to play out a little bit before there is a change in terms of security."
