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The shooting deaths of four Muslim men in late 2021 and 2022 stoked fears in Albuquerque’s tight-knit Islamic community and garnered national media attention.
Testimony is expected to begin Tuesday in the trial of an Afghan immigrant charged in three of those killings in July and August 2022.
Jury selection began Monday in the trial of Muhammad Atif Syed, 53, who is charged with three counts of first-degree murder and four counts of tampering with evidence in those killings.
The trial is likely to focus on firearms allegedly found in Syed’s possession at the time of his arrest in August 2022 and comparisons with shell casings found at the scenes of the killings.
The 2nd Judicial District Court trial is scheduled to continue through March 21 before District Judge Britt Baca-Miller.
Syed was arrested on Aug. 9, 2022, on two open counts of murder in the shooting deaths of Aftab Hussein, 41, on July 26, 2022, and Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, on Aug. 1, 2022.
Later that month, a grand jury indicted Syed on three counts of first-degree murder, adding the Aug. 5, 2022, shooting death of Naeem Hussein, 25, to the two earlier killings.
Police and prosecutors said at the time they were investigating Syed as a suspect in a fourth killing — that of Muhammad Ahmadi, 62.
Ahmadi was found shot to death in Nov. 2, 2021, behind an Albuquerque market he owned with his brother. Syed has not been charged in Ahmadi’s killing.
Syed was arrested while driving a Volkswagen Jetta east on Interstate 40 toward Texas.
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Authorities never established a clear motive for the killings. Police said after the arrest that Syed knew the victims “to some extent” and that “an interpersonal conflict may have led to the shootings.”
Some members of the Muslim community at the time speculated that sectarian motives may have played a role.
Speaking at a news conference in 2022, Albuquerque Police Department officers didn’t respond to a report that Syed, a Sunni Muslim, was upset that his daughter had married a Shiite Muslim.
Syed and his family are refugees from Afghanistan and came to the U.S. about eight years ago.
Syed’s son, Shaheen Syed, 22, was arrested the same day as his father. The younger Syed is not charged with any of the killings but has pleaded guilty to federal firearms charges for providing false information when he purchased a firearm in 2021.
Three killings
In July and August 2022, a series of killings stoked fears that a serial killer was targeting Muslim men and received the condemnation of President Joe Biden. The victims are:
Aftab Hussein — On July 26, 2022, Albuquerque police responded to a ShotSpotter gunshot detection activation and found Hussein fatally shot on a sidewalk near 420 Rhode Island NE. Officers found several 7.62mm gun casings behind a bush near the body.
Muhammad Afzaal Hussain — On Aug. 1, 2022, police responding to a 911 call found Hussain fatally shot on a sidewalk at 422 Cornell SE. Officers found seven 7.62mm casings and seven 9mm casings at the scene.
Naeem Hussein — On Aug. 5, 2022, Hussein was fatally shot after he attended afternoon funeral services at the Islamic Center of New Mexico for the two victims of the previous shootings. That night, police found Hussein fatally shot in his Toyota 4Runner outside Lutheran Family Services, 230 Truman NE.
Security video showed Naeem Hussein’s car enter the parking lot at 3:53 p.m. followed by a light-colored sedan.
The sedan was believed to be the same Volkswagen Jetta that had followed Hussain’s car out of the Islamic Center parking lot after the funeral services.
APD released a flyer on Aug. 7, 2022, with a photo of the Volkswagen sedan, highlighting the car’s distinctive hubcaps and damage to the car. APD and the FBI received multiple tips that the vehicle belonged to Muhammad Atif Syed.
The following day, APD received a tip that the hubcaps were found in a dumpster. Police also found the Volkswagen Jetta at Syed’s residence. The hubcaps had been removed.
Later that day, law enforcement stopped Syed on Interstate 40 about 100 miles east of Albuquerque as he was on his way to Texas.
Firearms seized
Federal court filings in Shaheen Syed’s case outline the weapons seized after the arrest.
Police seized a 9mm handgun in Muhammad Syed’s car and a 9mm casing found between the windshield and hood of the car.
Police searched Syed’s home and found two AK-47 weapons and a rifle scope.
Federal weapons experts determined that an AK-47 rifle found in Syed’s bedroom had fired the casings found at the scenes of the killings of Aftab Hussein and Muhammad Afzaal Hussain.
There was also a “presumptive match” between the 9mm casing found at the scene of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain’s killing and the 9 mm handgun and shell casing found in Syed’s car, according to federal court filings.
Legal wrangling
Judge Baca-Miller last year tossed out statements Syed made to a police detective, finding that the officer failed to inform Syed that he had a right to a court-appointed attorney prior to questioning.
Baca-Miller also excluded reports and testimony analyzing ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology that allegedly link Syed to the shootings.
Nancy Laflin, a spokeswoman for the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, said in December that prosecutors “have very solid evidence, and the judge’s rulings do not significantly impact the prosecution of this case.”
