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Fourth Muslim man killed in Albuquerque in the last nine months

Attorney Ahmad Assed, who serves as the president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico express his concern of these killings
Gino Gutierrez
/
KSFR News
Attorney Ahmad Assed, who serves as the president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico express his concern over these killings

A fourth Muslim man was shot and killed in Albuquerque Friday night, marking the fourth murder of a Muslim man in Albuquerque in the last nine months and the third in the past two weeks alone.

27-year-old Muhammed Afzaal Hassian was killed on August 1st. 41-year-old Aftab Hussein was killed on July 26th, and 62-year-old Mohammad Ahmadi on November 7th, 2021.

Attorney Ahmad Assed, who serves as the president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico said these murders have rocked the Muslim community.

“Our community is devastated as you can imagine. We’ve never gone through anything like this before, this is really a surreal time for us,” Assed said.

The Albuquerque Journal reported on Saturday afternoon that Naeem Hussain was the murder victim. He has been shot to death in a parking lot near San Mateo and Copper NE.

On Tuesday, investigators announced that they believed there was a strong possibility that these individuals were targeted because of their race and religion. In a press conference Saturday afternoon, APD officials said they are consulting with the Muslim community and increasing patrols in certain areas of the city.

Command posts are also expected to be established and multiple units within the department are working on this case.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham also announced on Saturday that she will be sending additional state police officers to Albuquerque, who will work in close coordination with APD and the FBI.

Leaders from APD, U.S. Attorney's Office, the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office, FBI, and city of Albuquerque urged the public to come forward and report any suspicious activity they see.

In a statement released Saturday afternoon, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said this is a “call to action” for the entire city to stand with the Muslim community and that law enforcement partners are directing ever possible resource to these cases.

Anyone with information on these cases is encouraged to report it to Crime Stoppers at (505)-843-STOP or the FBI at 1-800-CALLFBI. There is currently a $20,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

On Sunday, law enforcement officials released a photo of a vehicle of interest in relation to the 4 shootings. The car is described as a dark gray/silver 4-door Volkswagen sedan with tinted windows.