A handcuffed Syed, wearing a red jumpsuit and orange sandals, appeared in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court Wednesday. He was ordered to remain in jail until an upcoming detention hearing.
As authorities prepared to search Syed's home Monday, they saw him driving a vehicle that was spotted fleeing one of the shootings, an arrest affidavit says.
Before Syed's arrest, authorities had sought the public’s help locating a Volkswagen Jetta after a witness saw the car immediately following the fatal shooting of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, court documents say.
Police saw Syed leave his home Monday and followed him to Santa Rosa, about 110 miles east of Albuquerque. When they pulled him over, police found a 9mm pistol in his car – the same kind of weapon police say was used in at least one of the killings, an arrest affidavit says. Bullet casings were also found lodged near the windshield and the hood of the car, the document says.
Syed told police he planned to relocate to Houston “because the situation in Albuquerque was bad,” the arrest warrant says.
Police found clothing, shoes and a "pistol or handgun" in his car, the warrant says. Syed, who claimed no one else used the gun, told police he owned an AK-47 and that he likes the weapon because he had one while living in Afghanistan. He told a detective he fought the Taliban in Afghanistan, an arrest affidavit says.
Syed denied involvement in the killings, though he said knew two of the victims, Naeem Hussain, since 2016, and that he recognized Aftab Hussein from parties in the community, the charging document says.
Rifles, handguns found in suspect's car, home
After tips led police to Syed, investigators found that he and his sons had purchased several weapons in recent months.
The suspect bought an AK-47-style rifle in July, and purchased both a scope for it and a new hammer for the weapon in May, an arrest affidavit said. He also bought a 9mm pistol in January 2021, according to an arrest warrant.
The search warrant shows police searched the home and found two rifles, one owned by one of his sons. When questioned, one of Syed's sons told police that no one was "allowed to touch or take his father's guns."
Investigators say they were able to match bullet casings found at the shooting scenes to ones fired from the weapons.
One of the weapons found during the search led authorities on Wednesday to arrest one of his sons, Shaheen Syed. He was charged by federal prosecutors with providing a false Florida address when he bought two rifles last year, federal court documents show. He has denied any role in the killings and has not been charged in connection with them.
Suspect had string of previous arrests
CNN interviewed Syed’s daughter shortly before the announcement of his arrest. She said her husband was friends with two of the men who were killed. She also acknowledged her father initially was upset about her 2018 marriage but recently had been more accepting.
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