Suspect charged with three murders that terrorized Albuquerque Muslims

An Albuquerque grand jury on Monday indicted Afghan refugee Muhammad Syed, 51, on three charges of first-degree murder in the shooting deaths of cafe employee Aftab Hussein, urban planning director Muhammad Hussain, and truck business owner Naeem Hussain, over a 10-day stretch beginning in late July.

Syed would face life imprisonment if convicted of any one of those charges.

Investigators have also previously said that they suspected Syed may have carried out a fourth killing dating back to last year: that of grocery store owner Mohammad Ahmadi, 62, on 7 November. But grand jurors on Monday stopped short of charging Syed with that murder.

But, after police published a description and surveillance pictures of a silver, four-door Volkswagen that appeared to be involved in at least some of the murders, officers spotted Syed driving that vehicle.

He has been detained without bond since and insisted he was not guilty in preliminary court hearings.

Police have not said what may have motivated Syed to apparently go on a killing spree. But those acquainted with him have publicly noted that Syed, a Sunni Muslim, was greatly displeased with his daughter for marrying someone from the Shia branch of Islam.