'Targeted killings' of Muslim residents rock New Mexico community
- ranchifarida
- Aug 9, 2022
- 2 min read
The murders of four Muslim men in Albuquerque, New Mexico, have sent shockwaves throughout the Muslim community, with police investigating a potential link between the killings.
The latest victim, 25-year-old Naeem Hussain, was gunned down on Friday night, shortly after attending funeral services for two other victims - Aftab Hussein, 41, fatally shot on 26 July and Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, fatally shot on 1 August. All three men are of South Asian descent and Muslim.
Police believe the killings could be linked to the November 2021 murder of Mohammad Ahmadi, 62, a Muslim man from Afghanistan, who was ambushed outside a halal supermarket and cafe in Albuquerque.
The victims were all "ambushed with no warning, fired on and killed", said Kyle Hartsock, deputy commander of Albuquerque Police Department's criminal investigations division.
'Targeted killings'
Police have so far refrained from calling the murders hate crimes, but Arizona Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has characterised them as "targeted killings of Muslim residents".
On Monday, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said, ”in my opinion, clearly it is hate-driven”.
"They are obviously targeting Muslim men, and they are happening right here in our own refugee community," Keller said in a CNN interview.
"We know that folks in our community, in the Muslim community especially, they are afraid to even leave their house, especially at night. They are afraid to pray. They are afraid to go to school,” he added.
The Albuquerque area is home to around 3,000-5,000 Muslims who make up about 85 percent of the entire state's Muslim population.
The brutal killings have torn through the tight-knit community. The three latest victims attended the same mosque, according to Tahir Gauba, a spokesperson for the Islamic Center of New Mexico.
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