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ALBUQUERQUE (U.S.), Aug. 23 (AP) An Afghan refugee accused of killing two Muslim men is facing new charges related to the shooting of another man in a refugee resettlement facility parking lot earlier this month. accusation.
On Monday, a grand jury charged Muhammad Saeed with three murders. He is also a suspect in the November 2021 shooting of a Muslim shopkeeper, but he has not yet been charged in the case.
The indictment includes the deaths of Aftab Hussein and Muhammad Afzaal Hussain. Hussain, 41, was killed on the night of July 26 after he parked his car at his usual spot near his home.
Afzaal Hussain, a 27-year-old city planner who campaigned for a congresswoman in New Mexico, was shot and killed while walking the night of August 1.
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In the Aug. 5 killings, authorities accused Saeed of shooting Naeem Hussey in his car outside the Lutheran Family Services Center, a resettlement agency after funerals for two other shooting victims. because.
Hussain was shot in his SUV around 4 p.m. local time, hitting him in the head and arm.
Syed, 51, has denied any involvement in the killing that rocked the Muslim community in New Mexico, and his defense attorney argued at a court hearing last week that he has no criminal record because a previous domestic violence case against him had not been pursued.
Prosecutors argued that Syed was a dangerous person. A state district agreed, ordering Syed to be held without bail pending trial.
The indictment, released Monday, also includes four counts of tampering with evidence related to the three killings Syed is accused of.
“Our homicide detectives continue to work with prosecutors to ensure that all victims receive justice in this tragic case,” Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said in a statement.
Said’s public defender declined to comment on the latest allegations.
Surveillance footage obtained by Albuquerque detectives showed a gray sedan fleeing the scene after Naeem Hussein was shot. Tips from the public and additional surveillance video helped detectives identify the car, and they named Syed as the owner.
Said was arrested on August 8 more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) from his home in Albuquerque. He told authorities he was on his way to Texas and said ambush killings were his concern.
According to the initial criminal complaint filed by Albuquerque police, investigators determined that the shell casings found in Syed’s vehicle matched the caliber of the weapon believed to have been used in the killings on July 26 and August 1, and Shell casings were found at the crime scene and guns were found at Said’s home and his car.
Federal authorities pointed to cellphone records in court documents and accused one of Saeed’s sons who may have helped him track down Naeem Hussein before his father was killed.
Lawyers for Shaheen Syed have argued the charges are weak and dismissed prosecutors’ claims that the young Syed gave a false address when he bought a gun from a local store in 2021. (Associated Press)
(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from the Syndicated News feed, the body of the content may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)
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