Albuquerque authorities have arrested a suspect in connection to the killings of four Muslim men since November of last year, arguing that the motivation for the attack was anger.
The man, who was of Afghan descent, was allegedly angry that his daughter had married a man from the other major branch of Islam. Police officers said that the suspect, identified as 51-year-old Muhammad Syed, would be charged with two of the killings.
Muslim Slayings
Furthermore, officials said that the man was a suspect in the other two deaths as the president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico, Ahmad Assed, said that authorities told him the individual was a Sunni Muslim.
This means he may have targeted the victims because he was angry over his daughter's relationship with a Shiite Muslim. Assed and the police cautioned that details remained sparse regarding the incidents, and the former noted that at least one of the victims was Sunni.
Police also said they were not yet sure if a dispute over marriage was the sole motive for the crimes. However, they noted that they were aware of it and had found evidence that an "interpersonal conflict" may have led to the shootings, as per the New York Times.
Last Thursday, Albuquerque police disclosed that three killings between November and August could be linked to each other. A day after, a fourth Muslim man working as a truck driver was shot and killed inside his car, raising further alarms in a city where many refugees and immigrants said they had long felt safe.
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As word of the attacks spread, authorities received tips about the suspect and a possible vehicle linked to one of the murders. As officers prepared to execute a search warrant at Syed's home on Monday, he drove away in that same vehicle, said police deputy commander Kyle Hartsock during a news conference.
According to The Hill, Hartsock noted that a search warrant executed on Syed's home found multiple firearms, with one firearm found inside the home and another discovered inside the car. Both weapons were linked to the shootings of Aftab Hussein and Muhammad Afzaar Hussain, two of the four victims.
Interpersonal Conflict
Local and state police have teamed up with federal agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives for the investigation. In a press release, the Council for American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said that the suspect was targeting Shia Muslims.
CAIR National Executive Director Nihad Awad said he was disturbed by the indications of a potential hate crime. "If this is true, it is completely unacceptable, and we encourage law enforcement to file any appropriate hate crime charges against the suspect," Awad said.
After authorities tracked down a vehicle believed to be involved in one of the slayings, Police Chief Harold Medina said that the driver was detained and was the primary suspect for the crimes. In a news release, police said that the offender knew the victims to some extent, the Associated Press reported.
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