Police see possible link in slayings

4 Muslims killed in Albuquerque

Police in Albuquerque are investigating the killings of three Muslim men that they say may be connected.

Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, and Aftab Hussein, 41, Pakistani men who attended the same mosque, were fatally shot within a week of each other, police said. Hussain, who was killed Monday, was the planning and land use director for the city of Española, about 90 miles north of Albuquerque. Hussein, slain July 26, worked at a local cafe.

A third Muslim man was killed just before midnight Friday, according to police. The identity and age of the latest victim has not been released, although police said he was a “young man” from South Asia.

Authorities said they believed the recent violence might also be connected to the November 2021 killing in Albuquerque of Mohammad Ahmadi, 62, a Muslim man from Afghanistan. Ahmadi was killed outside a business he and his brother ran on San Mateo Boulevard, police said.

Authorities did not elaborate on why they thought the killings may be connected and did not say whether there were any witnesses to the homicides, but they said they believed the Muslim community was being targeted.

The Albuquerque Police Department, along with the FBI and the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office, is asking city residents to come forward with any information that could be connected to the killings.

“This is something that impacts us all,” Bernalillo County District Attorney Raúl Torrez said at a news conference Saturday. “Every member of this community has to stand up.”

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said on Twitter Saturday that the killings were “deeply angering and wholly intolerable” and that she was sending more State Police officers to help the Albuquerque Police and the FBI. She also expressed solidarity with the Muslim community in the state.

“We stand with you,” she said.

Officials with the Islamic Center of New Mexico, still reeling from the Friday night funeral service for Hussain and Hussein, said that they were shocked to learn of another death the next morning, and that the slayings have Muslims in the city fearing for their safety.

“We are incredibly sickened with the idea that someone has this much hate against innocent people,” said Ahmad Assed, president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico. “We’re scared for our families, we’re scared for our children. And we are incredibly confused about why this is happening.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest nonprofit Muslim civil rights group in the United States, said Friday that it would offer a $10,000 reward to anyone who could provide information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the killings.

“We’ve really never seen something like this, where there’s multiple similar murders that really seem connected,” said Ibrahim Hooper, national communications director for the council.

Nihad Awad, national executive director of the council, said in an interview that the tragedies affected not only the Muslim community but all Americans. “We must be united against hate and violence regardless of the race, faith, or background of the victims or the perpetrators,” he said. “We urge anyone with information about these crimes to come forward by contacting law enforcement.”

Amid the shock, outrage, and anxiety, those who knew the victims also expressed their grief and paid tribute Saturday.