A Muslim man has been found fatally shot in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and police suspect that he may have been the fourth victim in a series of targeted slayings.
“Investigators believe Friday’s murder may be connected to three recent murders of Muslim men also from South Asia,” the release said. Police had said earlier that the other three Muslim men killed in the state’s largest city in the past nine months appeared to have been targeted for their religion and race.
“Detectives on Thursday determined there is a connection between the Aug. 1, 2022, murder of Muhammed Afzaal Hussain, 27, and the July 26, 2022, murder of Aftab Hussein, 41. Both men are Muslim and from Pakistan. They were killed in Southeast Albuquerque, near Central Ave.”
Detectives are also seeking to determine whether the slaying of an Afghan Muslim, Mohammad Ahmadi, on Nov. 7, 2021, is connected to the other homicides. Ahmadi was killed outside a business that he was running together with his brother.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said on Aug. 6 that she would send additional state police to Albuquerque in response to the most recent slaying.
The Latest Victim
Tahir Gauba, director of public affairs with the Islamic Center of New Mexico, has been receiving numerous phone calls following Hussain’s death, as people are “beginning to panic.” Hussain was reportedly on the phone with his fiancée in Virginia when he was shot.“She heard the gunshot I think and she freaked out,” Gauba told the Albuquerque Journal. “So he didn’t respond after that, so she called one of his friends. His friend went over there and his friend is the one who called 911.”
The slaying is being investigated by multiple agencies including the New Mexico State Police, U.S. Marshals Service, and the FBI.