Afghan man arrested for murder of 4 Muslims in New Mexico

Mexico, Aug 10: The Albuquerque Police Department has arrested the suspect in the ambush killings of four Muslim men in New Mexico.

A man identified as Muhammad Syed (51) was arrested on Monday. He was charged with killing two victims and was identified as the prime suspect in the other two murders, authorities said as per Associated Press.

The killings had sparked nationwide alarm amongst Muslim communities with US President Joe Biden denouncing the killing, saying "I am angered and saddened by the horrific killings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque."

Syed was formally charged with two of the homicides (Aftab Hussein, 41, and Muhammed Afzaal Hussain, 27,) killed on July 26 and August 1, respectively, but he is considered a suspect in all four murders, Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said at a news conference, according to a report on Reuters.

As per the authorities, Syed, who is from Afghanistan, had lived in the United States for about five years. "The offender knew the victims to some extent, and an interpersonal conflict may have led to the shootings," a police statement said. The cops are now investigating how they had crossed paths.

Syed allegedly killed Nayeem Hussain, 25, on Friday. It came days after the murders of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, and Aftab Hussein, 41, who were also from Pakistan and members of the same mosque.

On asking if Syed, a Sunni Muslim, was upset over his daughter marrying a Shiite Muslim, Deputy Police Cmdr. Kyle Hartsock did not respond directly and said "motives are still being explored fully to understand what they are."

Although he acknowledged that "there was a marriage", he cautioned against coming to any conclusions about the motives behind the murders.

Authorities have said that at this stage, Syed is charged in the killings of Aftab Hussein and Muhammad Afzaal Hussain since bullet casings found at the crime scenes were linked to a gun found at his home. However, charges have not been filed yet.