By Andrew Hay
(Reuters) – A New Mexico jury on Monday found an Afghan asylum seeker guilty of murdering a Pakistani immigrant in one of three 2022 ambush-style shootings that terrified Muslims in the state’s largest city.
Muhammad Syed, 53, faces life imprisonment for the first-degree murder of 41-year-old Aftab Hussein on July 26, 2022, in southeast Albuquerque.
Syed is charged with two other 2022 killings of Muslim men that some national Muslim groups and media linked to sectarian violence, but police and Albuquerque’s Islamic community blamed on interpersonal feuds.
“As best we can tell, the motive in this may truly be a random serial killer type of mentality that we will never understand,” prosecuting attorney David Waymire told reporters after the verdict.
During the week-long trial jurors heard how Syed’s mobile phone showed he was in the area of the shooting when it happened and an examination of spent cartridges found at the scene matched a semi-automatic rifle found at Syed’s home.
Syed is also charged with the killing of 27-year-old urban planner Muhammed Afzaal Hussain, on Aug. 1, 2022 and truck driver Naeem Hussain, who was shot four days later. Trials for the two other killings are expected this year.
All three men killed were of Afghan or Pakistani descent and prayed with Syed at Albuquerque’s largest mosque.
Syed has a record of criminal misdemeanors since he came to the United States, including a case of domestic violence.
(Reporting by Andrew Hay; Editing by Nia Williams)
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