The New Mexico man charged with murdering two Muslim victims and suspected of fatally gunning down two more allegedly said he was driving to Texas to try to find a new place to live amid the recent Albuquerque violence, according to officials and documents released Wednesday.
Police took Muhammad Syed, 51, into custody during a traffic stop in Santa Rosa, New Mexico, just 30 minutes before midnight on Wednesday. Police were preparing to execute a search warrant at his Albuquerque when home they saw him leave in his grey Volkswagen Jetta. They stopped him over 100 miles away, traveling eastbound on Interstate 40, police records show.
Just hours earlier, Syed had allegedly told someone "he was driving to Houston, [Texas] to find a new place for his family to live because the situation in Albuquerque was bad," according to a criminal complaint provided to Fox News Digital on Wednesday
"Muhammad then referenced the shooting of Muslims on the news," the complaint states. "Muhammed took with him: clothing, shoes, and a pistol or handgun."
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Syed has been charged with two counts of murder, but police have also identified him as the "most likely" suspect in connection with the other slayings. With the help of an interpreter, he "denied having any involvement in the murders in this case," the criminal complaint alleges.
Police are still working to determine whether the killings will ultimately be classified as hate crimes. Records did not list an attorney for Syed early Wednesday.
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Syed, a Sunni Muslim, moved to the United States five years ago from Afghanistan, police said. He has a history of three misdemeanor domestic violence arrests, police officials said, though the charges were later dismissed.
According to The Associated Press, Syed, his son and his wife once pulled Syed’s daughter’s then-boyfriend out of a vehicle and began punching and kicking him. The man reportedly suffered bruises and a bloody nose, and told police the family did not want him to date the woman.
When asked during a press conference on Tuesday about theories that the alleged murders had to do with Syed’s anger over his daughter’s decision to marry a Shiite Muslim man, Deputy Police Cmdr. Kyle Hartsock told reporters the "motives are still being explored fully to understand what they are."
"We do have some information about those events taking place, but we're not really clear if that was the actual motive, or if it was part of a motive, or if there's just a bigger picture that we're missing," Hartstock said.
Police also said detectives "discovered evidence that shows the offender knew the victims to some extent and an interpersonal conflict may have led to the shootings."
Four men in total – all Muslims from South Asia – were ambushed, shot, and killed in Albuquerque since November 2021.
The most recent murder took place on Friday evening, when Naeem Hussain, from Pakistan, was discovered fatally wounded in the area of Truman Street and Grand Avenue.
On Aug. 1, the third victim, local city planner Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, was gunned down in the area of Cornell Drive Southeast and Garfield Avenue Southeast, police said.
And before then, 41-year-old Aftab Hussein was fatally wounded on July 26, 2022. A ShotSpotter activation showed 13 gunshots were fired, following by additional rounds, in the area of 417 Rhode Island Street, police documents show. There, officers discovered Aftab Hussein "lying next to a silver Hyundai sedan at" nearby, with multiple apparent gunshot wounds.
Several months before that, on Nov. 7, 2021, 62-year-old Mohammad Ahmadi was discovered shot and killed in the rear parking lot of a halal café he owned with his brother on San Mateo Boulevard, according to city officials and local affiliate KRQE-TV.
According to the criminal complaint, Syed told investigators he "has known Naeem Hussain since 2016 and recognized Aftab Hussein from parties in the community." So far, Syed has only been charged for the deaths of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain and Aftab Hussein.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Afzaal Hussain and Aftab Hussein were reportedly involved with the same mosque.
Investigators worked with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determined shell casings recovered at both crime scenes matched one of the firearms that Syed owned, the criminal complaint states. They also matched shell casings recovered from his vehicle to the caliber gun used in the murders.
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Police were offering a hefty reward for information leading to their suspect, and said they received over 200 tips in connection with the manhunt.
According to the criminal complaint, police and the FBI received "multiple tips" leading investigators to Syed, including many said he drove a grey Volkswagen sedan or who "stated that Muhammad was the shooter in the homicides of the Muslim men in Albuquerque."
The tip that led to Syed's arrest came from the Muslim community after pictures of the car were released to the public on Sunday, police said.
Police also questioned Syed’s sons, but later released them.
