Albuquerque Police are asking the public’s help to locate a “vehicle of interest” that could be linked to the recent murders of four Muslim men in the city. Police posted images of the car across social media on Sunday night and said it could have been used as “conveyance” in the recent homicides.
The car is described as either a dark gray or silver Volkswagen Passat or Jetta sedan with four doors and tinted windows. “We have a very, very strong link,” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller said Sunday. “We have a vehicle of interest… We have got to find this vehicle. We are outraged by these attacks and will not relent in our pursuit of justice for those we have lost.” It is unclear where the images of the car were taken.
The first of the four killings in New Mexico’s biggest city was reported in November 2021, when 62-year-old Mohammad Ahmadi was shot and killed outside a halal cafe. Aftab Hussein, 41, was killed in his apartment complex parking in July. Then, less than a week later, on Aug. 1, 27-year-old Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, was shot and killed outside his apartment. A fourth Muslim man, believed to be in his mid-20s, was killed on Friday night. His identity remains unknown. The fourth death came a day after police said they believe Hussain’s death is connected to the previous deaths and that Hussain and Hussein were both members of the same mosque. Authorities are now trying to piece together a link with Ahmadi’s death in November.