Suspect busted in New Mexico Muslim slays

Police in Albuquerque, NM, nabbed the “primary suspect” in the killings of four local Muslim men on Tuesday — and now believe the victims may have been hunted down by a Sunni for being Shia.

Authorities charged Muhammad Syed, 51, with two of the four homicides after connecting those murders by tracing bullet casings, according to a press release.

Ahmad Assed, president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico, told The New York Times that authorities briefed him on the killings and said that Syed is a Sunni Muslim who was upset that his daughter married someone who is part of the Shia sect. The Post has not confirmed this report.

Albuquerque’s police chief, Harold Medina, tweeted earlier Tuesday that his department “tracked down the vehicle believed to be involved in a recent murder of a Muslim man in Albuquerque.”

“The driver was detained, and he is our primary suspect for the murders,” Medina said.

The announcement came after New Mexico authorities revealed they were investigating the possibility that a serial killer has been hunting Muslim people in the state’s largest city.

On Sunday, Albuquerque police released an image of a dark gray or silver Volkswagen sedan they believed to be connected to the killer.

In their press release Tuesday, they connected Syed to the Volkswagen, saying cops saw him driving the car.