After Muslim Americans in New Mexico made headlines for being victims of a string of murders that terrified the community, police announced Tuesday that they no longer need to live in fear. Authorities took to social media to confirm that they have detained a man considered to be the “primary suspect” in the killings of four Muslim men.
With the most recent murder taking place on Friday, at least four Muslim men from Albuquerque were shot and killed since last winter. Law enforcement posted a call to identify a vehicle connected to one of the killings on Twitter.
Chief Harold Medina wrote on Twitter Tuesday that the man driving that vehicle has been detained. More details are expected to be available at a later time.
The Muslim community of Albuquerque includes hundreds of refugees, as well as immigrants from South Asia. The community expressed widespread fear, with many even choosing not to leave their homes due to the threat of “targeted killings.”
“There are recent arrivals who are fearful, and there are people who are U.S.-born Muslims who are also are on edge,” said Michelle Melendez, director of the city’s Office of Equity and Inclusion. “The victims are everything from professionals to students to working-class people.”
The murdered men are 25-year-old Naeem Hussain, the latest victim; 41-year-old Aftab Hussein; 27-year-old Muhammad Afzaal Hussain; and 62-year-old Mohammad Ahmadi.
While police officials have been careful not to call the killings hate crimes, many can’t help but believe the motive is such, given the background of the victims and their affiliations to the same places of worship.
“While we won’t go into why we think that, there’s one strong commonality in all of our victims: their race and religion,” Kyle Hartsock, deputy commander of the department’s Criminal Investigations Division, said in a statement. “We are taking this very serious, and we want the public’s help in identifying this cowardly individual.”
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