After Murder of 4 Muslims, Albuquerque Cops Make an Ask

Police ask public for help in finding 'vehicle of interest'
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 8, 2022 2:12 PM CDT
Cops: Help Us Find This Car After Albuquerque Murders
This "wanted" poster released Sunday by the Albuquerque Police Department shows a vehicle suspected of being used as conveyance in the recent homicides of four Muslim men in Albuquerque, NM.   (Albuquerque Police Department via AP)

Cops in Albuquerque, New Mexico, are asking the public to keep a lookout for a car they think may be tied to the murder of four Muslim men in the city over the past nine months. Per CBS News, police asked anyone in the area who's seen a dark gray or dark silver four-door Volkswagen sedan with tinted windows, possibly damaged, to contact them "as soon as possible." Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said police have indicated the vehicle may have been involved in the most recent fatal shooting on Friday night.

The car is believed to be a Jetta made between 2011 and 2018, with a metallic finish, per NBC News. "We have a strong lead, a vehicle of interest," Keller said. "We don't know what it's associated with or who owns it." The police department has also created an online portal where the public can upload pictures or video they think might help solve the murders. Police say it's not yet clear if the shootings will be deemed hate crimes. Cops indicate that they believe the killings may be connected, and that the victims were probably targeted. The first homicide occurred in November 2021.

Meanwhile, CNN has more on the victims, including Naeem Hussain, the man killed Friday. The 25-year-old owned his own trucking business and, after fleeing Pakistan as a refugee in 2016, had just become a US citizen in July. A spokesman for a local mosque says that on the day Hussain was killed, he'd attended a funeral service for the two other Muslims who'd been gunned down earlier this year and had mentioned he was fearful over what was happening. Killed Aug. 1, Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, a "brilliant" member of the planning team for the City of Espanola who'd received bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of New Mexico, was also originally from Pakistan. Not much is yet known about the other two slain men, 62-year-old Mohammad Ahmadi of Afghanistan, and Aftab Hussein, 41, of Pakistan. (More Muslim Americans stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X