In just 10 days, three Muslim men have been killed in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This has caused fear in one of the smallest Muslim communities in the United States, as police have warned that the three deaths may be related.
The killings also followed the November 2021 killing of Mohammad Ahmadi, another Muslim man, which local advocates and law enforcement officials believe could also be linked to the more recent attacks.
Law enforcement officials have said there is a “strong possibility” that the victims were targeted because of their race and religion.
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In the latest attack, Nayeem Hossain was shot on Friday afternoon while returning from the burial of the other two victims, Aftab Hussein and Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, who was shot on 26 July and 1 August, respectively.
His fiance, who was on the phone with him, heard the shot while waiting in a parking lot. Hossain had become a US citizen just two weeks ago.
Since the latest killings, the local Muslim community has been on edge and is trying to stay in as much as possible. Dr. Mahmoud Eldenawi, imam of the Islamic Center of New Mexico in Albuquerque, told the Guardian on Saturday.
“Especially when evening comes, nobody goes out, they’re rushing to finish everything during the daytime,” he said. “Unless it’s urgent they don’t leave home in the evenings. Everybody thinks they’re a target.
“We are faith leaders, we ask people to be strong, but we are human, we do feel concerned about our wife and children,” said Eldenawi.
Abbas Akhil, who founded the Islamic center, added that they had asked Muslim students, especially those from Pakistan living around campus, to be vigilant.
The killings happened within a mile of the area surrounding the campus of the University of New Mexico, Akhil said.
On Saturday, New Mexico’s governor, Michelle Lujan Grisham, condemned the killings and said they were “deeply angering and wholly intolerable”.
“I am sending additional state police officers to Albuquerque to work in close coordination with APD and the FBI to bring the killer or killers to justice – and they will be found,” she said.
