Police in New Mexico have found evidence that appears to tie a father and son to the killings of Muslim men in New Mexico, federal prosecutors said on Monday.
Muhammad Syed and his son Shaheen Syed were in the same area of Albuquerque shortly after an August 5 murder took place, based on mobile phone data, federal prosecutors said in court documents.
Agents believe Shaheen Syed saw victim Naeem Hussain at a funeral service that day for two other Muslim men who were murdered, FBI analysis of mobile phone tower data showed.
He then followed Hussain to the location where he was gunned down, prosecutors said in documents for a Monday detention hearing.
"Telephone calls between Muhammad Atif Syed and the defendant would be consistent with quick surveillance calls, before and after the shooting," federal prosecutors said.
Shaheen Syed was arrested last week on federal firearms charges for providing a false address.
A lawyer representing him called the latest allegations "exceedingly thin and speculative".
In a court filing, lawyer John Anderson said federal prosecutors provided no evidence as to the size of the "general area" in which the father and son's phones were located shortly after the murder.
Muhammad Syed was formally charged with killing Aftab Hussein, 41, on July 26, and Muhammed Afzaal Hussain, 27, on August 1.
Police have said they are working with prosecutors on potential charges for the murders of Naeem Hussain, 25, and Mohammad Ahmadi, 62, who was shot dead on November 7, 2021.
