Albuquerque police seek car in killings of 4 Muslim men
Judge gives 3rd man 35 years in prison for federal hate crime
Authorities on Monday identified the fourth victim in a series of killings of Muslim men in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as the deaths sent ripples of fear through the Islamic community nationwide.
Three of the slayings happened in the past week. Now law enforcement officials are seeking help finding a vehicle believed to be connected to the killings in New Mexico’s largest city, wherethecommonelements were the victims’ race and religion, officials said.
Naeem Hussain was killed Friday night, and ambush shootings killed three other Muslim men over the past nine months. Police are trying to determine if they are linked.
The killings have spread fear beyond New Mexico, where Muslims comprise less than 1% of adults in the statewide population of 2.1 million, according to Pew Research Center.
“The fact the suspect remains at large is terrifying,” Debbie Almontaser, a Muslim community leader in New York, wrote on Twitter. “Who is next?!”
In a phone interview, Almontaser said that a female friend who lives in Michigan and wears the hijab shared with her over the weekend just how rattled she was. “She’s like, ‘This is so terrifying. I’m so scared. I travel alone,’ ” Almontaser said.
Hussain, 25, was from Pakistan. His death came just days after those of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, and Aftab Hussein, 41, who were also from Pakistan and members of the same mosque.
The earliest case involves the November killing of Mohammad Ahmadi, 62, from Afghanistan.
Police said the same vehicle is suspected of being used in all four homicides — a dark gray or silver four-door Volkswagen that appears to be a Jetta with dark tinted windows. Authorities released photos hoping people could help identify the car.
“We will bring this person or these persons to justice,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Sunday.
Investigators did not say what led them to suspect the car was involved in the slayings.
“We have a very, very strong link,” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said Sunday. “We have a vehicle of interest. We have got to find this vehicle.”
President Joe Biden said he was “angered and saddened” by the killings and that his administration “stands strongly with the Muslim community.”
“These hateful attacks have no place in America,” Biden said Sunday in a tweet.
The conversation about safety has also dominated WhatsApp groups and email groups that Almontaser is on.
“What we’ve seen happen
in New Mexico is very chilling for us as a Muslim minority community in the United States that has endured so much backlash and discrimination” since the 9/11 attacks, she said. “It’s frightening. It’s scary.”
Last year, a poll by Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted for the 20th anniversary of 9/11 found 53% of Americans at the time had unfavorable views toward Islam, compared with 42% who had favorable ones. Albuquerque authorities say they cannot determine if the recent shootings were hate crimes until they have identified a suspect and a motive.
Even though two of the Albuquerque victims attended the same mosque, they were killed in separate shootings days apart.
The most recent victim was found dead after police received a call of a shooting. Authorities declined to say whether the killing was carried out in a way similar to the other deaths.
Muhammad Afzaal Hussain had worked as a field organizer for a local congresswoman’s campaign.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury issued a statement praising him as “one of the kindest and hardest working people” she has ever known.