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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — When pulled over by New Mexico police, the suspect in the killings of four Muslim men in Albuquerque denied any connection to the crimes that shook the city and its small Muslim community — and told authorities he was so unnerved by the violence that he was driving to Houston to look for a new home, court documents said.
The documents made public Tuesday night in a criminal complaint said Muhammad Syed, 51, only had clothing, shoes and a handgun when he was arrested Monday during a traffic stop more than 100 miles (160 kilometers) from his home in Albuquerque.
But investigators 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 bullet casings found at those crime scenes were linked to a gun found at Syed’s home, the criminal complaint said.
Syed, an Afghan immigrant, told detectives he had been with the special forces in Afghanistan and fought against the Taliban. He also denied having any involvement in the murders. Syed was scheduled to appear in court Wednesday afternoon. Prosecutors planned to ask that he be held without bail pending trial and court documents did not list an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
The ambush killings of the four Muslim men sent fear rippling through the Muslim community of New Mexico’s largest city but generated a flood of information, including tips that led to the arrest of Syed, who knew the victims, authorities said.
Following the arrest, Albuquerque’s Muslim community breathed “an incredible sigh of relief,” said Ahmad Assed, president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico.
