“The Islamic Center has instructed its nearly 2,500 members to stay home as much as they can, use the buddy system when going out and refrain from ‘engaging with or agitating’ anyone.”

nytimes.com
Killings of 4 Men in Albuquerque Leave Muslim Community in Fear
As the authorities appeal to the public for help in their investigation, many Muslim residents are experiencing a “managed panic.”

Killings of 4 Men in Albuquerque Leave Muslim Community in Fear

As the authorities appeal to the public for help in their investigation, many Muslim residents are experiencing a “managed panic.”

By Neelam Bohra and Vimal Patel
Published Aug. 7, 2022
Updated Aug. 8, 2022, 2:03 a.m. ET

Muhammad Imtiaz Hussain is afraid to step outside his home in Albuquerque to water his plants. Or retrieve books from his car. Or even venture out onto his balcony.

“My kids won’t let me go outside of my apartment,” said Mr. Hussain, 41, whose younger brother Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, was fatally shot a week ago Monday just a few blocks away. He was one of four Muslim men who were killed recently in the city — three in the past two weeks — and authorities believe the deaths are connected and meant to target the Muslim community.

The latest victim, a Muslim man in his mid-20s from South Asia whose name has not been released by the police, was killed on Friday just before midnight. Another man, Aftab Hussein, 41, was fatally shot on July 26. Authorities say that the killings of all three might be connected to the November 2021 killing of Mohammad Ahmadi, 62, outside a business he and his brother ran.

As the Albuquerque Police, the F.B.I. and the State Police appealed to the public for help in finding the killer or killers — on Sunday authorities described a vehicle of interest, a dark-colored, four-door Volkswagen sedan — the attacks have left Muslims in a state of terror.

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