The person who has been charged with killing two Muslim males in New Mexico's largest metropolis instructed authorities he was not concerned of their deaths, court docket paperwork present. The paperwork, obtained by CBS Information on Wednesday, additionally present new info that police say factors to Muhammad Syed's involvement.
Syed is charged with killing Aftab Hussein and Muhammud Afzaal Hussain. Hussein was shot whereas getting out of his automotive on July 26, and Hussein was killed days later whereas strolling down a sidewalk, authorities stated. A number of rounds have been fired in each shootings, which authorities beforehand described as ambush-style assaults.
Syed, 51, was pulled over in a grey Volkswagen Jetta about 100 miles from his Albuquerque dwelling late Monday night time. He allegedly instructed authorities he was going to Houston "to discover a new place for his household to reside as a result of the scenario in Albuquerque was unhealthy." Syed stated he heard in regards to the shootings on the information.
He had clothes, sneakers and a pistol or handgun with him on the time, based on the paperwork.
Throughout an early morning interview on Tuesday, he instructed authorities that he knew Hussain since 2016 and acknowledged Hussein from events, based on the paperwork. However he denied any involvement of their deaths.
He additionally confirmed to police that he was the proprietor of the Jetta, which matched an earlier description of the taking pictures suspect's automotive, the paperwork stated. Syed additionally stated he owned an AK-47 rifle, which he saved below his mattress, in addition to a 9mm handgun, which authorities present in his automotive.
Authorities took Syed's rifle throughout a search of his Albuquerque dwelling, and testing discovered that rifle had fired the casings discovered on the scenes of each murders, the paperwork stated. Authorities stated they have been additionally in a position to hyperlink his handgun to spent casings discovered on the scene of one of many murders, in addition to to casings positioned within the area between the windshield and the hood of his Jetta.
Police stated they have been in a position to affirm that Syed had bought the 2 weapons, in addition to a scope for the AK-47, inside the previous 12 months and a half. And certainly one of his sons instructed authorities throughout an interview that neither he nor his siblings had ever touched their fathers' weapons.
Previous to his arrest, Albuquerque police stated they, in addition to the FBI, acquired "a number of" suggestions connecting Syed — who recognized himself to authorities as a former member of the Particular Forces in Afghanistan that fought the Taliban — to the shootings.
Though Syed has solely been charged in two murders, authorities stated Tuesday they're investigating whether or not he was concerned in two different current murders of Muslim males. Naeem Hussain was killed in Albuquerque on Aug. 5 and Mohammed Zaher Ahmadi was killed on Nov. 7, 2021.
The shootings have left the native Muslim group on edge.
In a Tuesday assertion, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) thanked regulation enforcement for the arrest and wrote that it hopes "the information that this violence has been dropped at an finish will present the New Mexico Muslim group some sense of reduction and safety."
"Though we're ready to be taught extra about these crimes, we're disturbed by early indications that the alleged killer could have been concentrating on explicit members of the Shia group," the assertion learn. "If that is true, it's fully unacceptable, and we encourage regulation enforcement to file any applicable hate crime expenses towards the suspect."
Legislation enforcement officers haven't disclosed a motive for the killings.