According to reports, authorities in Albuquerque, New Mexico, have detained 51-year-old Muhammad Syed as a suspect in the murders of two Muslim males.
Syed’s daughter provided insight on her father and what transpired when they last saw each other, which she claimed was prior to his detention and before officials carried out a search order on their home, while CNN was inside Syed’s home hours before the announcement.
One of Syed’s six children, the daughter, spoke on Tuesday morning while the family was still tidying up after investigators had gone through the house’s belongings the previous evening. Rugs from the living area were scattered, and drawer contents were also dispersed. In the living room, a flag of Afghanistan, from where Syed and his family had relocated several years earlier, was still conspicuously displayed.
Due to concerns about the daughter’s safety, CNN has decided not to publish her name.
She claimed that the grey Volkswagen Jetta her father drives for a living as a truck driver. Images of a grey Volkswagen automobile, perhaps a Jetta, that Albuquerque police described as a “vehicle of interest” in the killings were previously made public.
Syed drove out of his house Monday night after telling his family he was heading to Texas to find housing for them and that he was scared due to previous shootings that had occurred in the Muslim community, according to his daughter. Syed also claimed he was afraid due to the shootings.
According to Kyle Hartsock, deputy commander of the Albuquerque Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division, authorities had been ready to execute a search warrant on Syed’s residence Monday night when they observed him get into his car and followed him. They were acting on a tip from the public.
Near Santa Rosa, New Mexico, which is about 120 miles east of Albuquerque and roughly halfway to the Texas border, Syed was stopped and imprisoned.
Police carried out the search warrant at Syed’s residence in the interim and discovered numerous weapons, according to Hartsock.
Syed’s daughter said he was at home during the shootings but was unable to provide any evidence.
“My father is not a murderous individual. Concerning peace, my father has always spoken. We are in the United States for that reason. We left Afghanistan, where we fought and shot, “She spoke to CNN.
According to the daughter, the family has lived in the US for around six years.
Syed’s origins were confirmed by Hartsock, who added that “that’s our only known history with him locally” during the previous few years including “a few small misdemeanor arrests (from the Albuquerque Police Department) from domestic violence” and other events.
Syed’s three prior accusations of domestic abuse were all dropped, according to Hartsock.
Syed denied any participation in the deaths during a Tuesday police interrogation, according to the affidavit for his detention.
Between November 2021 and this month, Albuquerque saw the murder of four Muslim men, the last three of which happened within a two-week period. The victims were all of South Asian ancestries, and two of the homicides were described in further detail in an arrest document acquired by CNN affiliate KOAT on Tuesday.
Police said that Aftab Hussein, one of the victims, was discovered on July 26 next to a car with multiple gunshot wounds. According to the complaint, as Hussein got out of his car, the gunman was waiting behind a bush not far from the driveway where the victim regularly parks his car. When Hussein got out, the gunman opened fire through the bush several times.
According to the complaint, Muhammud Afzaal Hussain was discovered by police on August 1 with several gunshot wounds after they received a call regarding a drive-by shooting.
Authorities discovered evidence that suggested Syed may have known the victims “to some extent” and that interpersonal tension may have been the cause of the killings in the suspect’s home, police said on Tuesday.
It’s outrageous to threaten the Attorney General—especially about a criminal affidavit (signed by a judge) you have not seen and evidence (seized by law enforcement) you don’t know. This behavior is why you will never be Speaker. https://t.co/tvXm3bZkLw
— Rep. Eric Swalwell (@RepSwalwell) August 9, 2022
Authorities said they intend to prosecute him with the murders of Aftab Hussein and Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, and Hartsock said they are collaborating with the district attorney on possible charges for the killings of Naeem Hussain on August 5 and Mohammad Zaher Ahmadi in November 2021.
According to Hartsock, the evidence is “sufficient enough” for officials to maintain their belief that Syed is also the “most likely person of interest or suspect” in those slayings.
According to the arrest affidavit, bullet shells from a handgun discovered in his car when he was stopped were related to one of the scenes, while one of the firearms confiscated in his residence has been linked to bullet casings discovered at the scenes of two of the homicides.
The daughter told that she wed a man in February 2018; her father initially disapproved of the union, but later came to embrace it. She claimed that two of the victims, Aftab Hussein and Naeem Hussain, were acquaintances of her husband.
