Muhammad Syed, 51, of Albuquerque, was arrested Monday after a traffic stop more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) from his Albuquerque home.
In court documents, in fact, he told police that he was so unnerved by the slayings that he was driving to Houston to find a new home for his family.
According to the criminal complaint, police determined that bullet casings found in Syed’s vehicle matched the caliber of the weapons believed to have been used in two of the killings and that casings found at the crime scenes were linked to guns found at Syed’s home and in his vehicle5
Of the more than 200 tips police received, it was one from the Muslim community that led them to the Syed family, authorities said, noting that Syed knew the victims and “an interpersonal conflict may have led to the shootings.”.
Authorities seized a 9 mm handgun from his vehicle and found an AK-47-style rifle and a pistol of the same caliber at the family home while serving a search warrant, according to court documents, which indicate the weapons were legally purchased last month.
When asked at a news conference Tuesday if Syed, a Sunni Muslim, was angry that his daughter married a Shiite Muslim, Deputy Police Cmdr.
In 2017, a boyfriend of Syed’s daughter reported to police that Syed, his wife and one of their sons had pulled him out of a car, punching and kicking him before driving away, according to court documents.
Syed also was arrested in 2020 after he was accused of refusing to pull over for police after running a traffic light, but that case was eventually dismissed, court documents said.
The Albuquerque slayings drew the attention of President Joe Biden, who said such attacks “have no place in America.” They also sent a shudder through Muslim communities across the U.S.
Police said they were about to search Syed’s Albuquerque home on Monday when they saw him drive away in a Volkswagen Jetta that investigators believe was used in at least one of the slayings.
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