On August 5, 2022, 25-year-old Naeem Hussain, a native of Pakistan, was found in the driver’s seat of his white Toyota 4-Runner in a Highland Business neighborhood parking lot at Truman Street and Grand Avenue in Albuquerque. He died of a gunshot wound. Investigators treated his killing as linked to a series of similar ambush-style shootings targeting Muslim men in the area; three earlier victims included Mohammad Ahmadi (62), Aftab Hussein (41) and Muhammad Afzaal Hussain (27), two of whom attended the same mosque as Naeem Hussain.

Police identified and arrested 51-year-old Muhammad Syed on August 9, 2022, after surveillance video showed a gray Volkswagen Jetta fleeing the scene and tips connected the car to Syed. Officers recovered multiple firearms during a search of Syed’s residence and vehicle; one gun found in the car matched weapons used at the crime scenes. Syed was charged with the murders of Naeem Hussain, Aftab Hussein and Muhammad Afzaal Hussain and with tampering with evidence, and investigators said he was the prime suspect in the killing of Mohammad Ahmadi as they continued to compile additional evidence.

Did anyone in the Albuquerque area see the gray Volkswagen Jetta near Truman and Grand Avenue on August 5?