{"id":39033,"date":"2022-08-08T19:47:40","date_gmt":"2022-08-09T01:47:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/albuquerque-police-seek-car-in-killings-of-4-muslim-men\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T02:47:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T08:47:56","slug":"albuquerque-police-seek-car-in-killings-of-4-muslim-men","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/albuquerque-police-seek-car-in-killings-of-4-muslim-men\/","title":{"rendered":"Albuquerque police seek car in killings of 4 Muslim men"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"People
People sprinkle dirt over the grave of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, at Fairview Memorial Park in Albuquerque on Friday. A funeral service was held for Aftab Hussein, 41, and Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, were shot and killed near their homes only six days apart. (Chancey Bush\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)<\/span>Chancey Bush<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Authorities on Monday identified the fourth victim in a series of killings of Muslim men in New Mexico\u2019s largest city as the deaths sent ripples of fear through the Islamic community nationwide.<\/p>\n

Law enforcement officials are also seeking help to find a vehicle believed to be connected to the Albuquerque slayings where the common elements were the victims\u2019 race and religion, officials said.<\/p>\n

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 the slayings are linked.<\/p>\n

The killings have spread fear beyond New Mexico.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact the suspect remains at large is terrifying,\u201d Debbie Almontaser, a Muslim community leader in New York, wrote on Twitter. \u201cWho is next?!\u201d<\/p>\n

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. \u201cShe\u2019s like, \u2018This is so terrifying. I\u2019m so scared. I travel alone,\u2019 \u201d Almontaser said.<\/p>\n

Hussain, 25, was a Muslim from Pakistan. His death followed those of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, and Aftab Hussein, 41, who were killed in the past week. Both were from Pakistan and members of the same mosque.<\/p>\n

The earliest case involves the November killing of Mohammad Ahmadi, 62, a Muslim man from Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

Police said the same vehicle is suspected of being used in all four homicides \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will bring this person or these persons to justice,\u201d Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Sunday.<\/p>\n

Investigators did not say where the images were taken or what led them to suspect the car was involved in the slayings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a very, very strong link,\u201d Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said Sunday. \u201cWe have a vehicle of interest \u2026 We have got to find this vehicle.\u201d<\/p>\n

President Joe Biden said he was \u201cangered and saddened\u201d by the killings and that his administration \u201cstands strongly with the Muslim community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese hateful attacks have no place in America,\u201d Biden said Sunday in a tweet.<\/p>\n

The conversation about safety has also dominated WhatsApp groups and email groups that Almontaser is on.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019ve 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\u201d since the 9\/11 attacks<\/a>, she said. \u201cIt\u2019s frightening. It\u2019s scary.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research conducted ahead of the 20th anniversary of 9\/11 found that 53% of Americans at the time had unfavorable views toward Islam, compared with 42% who had favorable ones. This stood in contrast to Americans\u2019 opinions about Christianity and Judaism, for which most respondents expressed favorable views.<\/p>\n

Albuquerque authorities say they cannot determine if the recent shootings were hate crimes until they have identified a suspect and a motive.<\/p>\n

Hussain 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.<\/p>\n

Police confirmed last week that local detectives and federal law enforcement officers were looking for possible ties between the killings.<\/p>\n

Muhammad Afzaal Hussain had worked as a field organizer for a local congresswoman\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n

Rep. Melanie Stansbury issued a statement praising the urban planner as \u201cone of the kindest and hardest working people\u201d she has ever known. She said he was \u201ccommitted to making our public spaces work for every person and cleaning up legacy pollution.\u201d<\/p>\n

__<\/p>\n

Dazio reported from Los Angeles and Fam from Winter Park, Florida. Associated Press news researchers Rhonda Shafner and Jennifer Farrar in New York contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

\"People
People spread dirt over Aftab Hussein's grave at Fairview Memorial Park in Albuquerque on Friday, Aug. 5. A funeral service was held for Aftab Hussein, 41, and Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, at the Islamic Center of New Mexico on Friday. (Chancey Bush\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)<\/span>Chancey Bush<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Altaf
Altaf Hussain cries over the grave of his brother Aftab Hussein at Fairview Memorial Park in Albuquerque on Friday. A funeral service was held for Aftab Hussein, 41, and Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, at the Islamic Center of New Mexico on Friday. (Chancey Bush\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)<\/span>Chancey Bush<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"A
A young man bows during the Dhuhr afternoon prayer at the Islamic Center of New Mexico, Sunday Aug. 7, 2022, after the fourth Muslim man was murdered in Albuquerque. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis\/The Albuquerque Journal via AP)<\/span>Adolphe Pierre-Louis<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Albuquerque
Albuquerque Police Deputy Chief of Investigations Cecily Barker holds a flyer with photos of a car wanted in connection with Muslim men murdered as Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham looks on in Albuquerque, on Sunday, Aug. 7. (Adolphe Pierre-Louis\/Albuquerque Journal via AP)<\/span>Adolphe Pierre-Louis<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

killings have spread fear beyond New Mexico.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":39034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[138],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-39033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-new-mexico"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39033"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39033\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":84199,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39033\/revisions\/84199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39033"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=39033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}