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Killings of Three Muslim Men in Albuquerque May Be Linked, Police Say

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The police in Albuquerque are investigating the killings of three Muslim men that they say may be connected.

Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, 27, and Aftab Hussein, 41, two Pakistani men who attended the same mosque, were fatally shot within a week of each other, the police said. Mr. Hussain, who was killed on Monday, was the planning and land use director for the city of Española, about 90 miles north of Albuquerque. Mr. Hussein, slain on July 26, worked at a local cafe.

A third Muslim man was killed just before midnight Friday, according to the police. The identity and age of the latest victim has not been released, though the police said he was a “young man” and from South Asia.

The authorities said they believed the recent violence might also be connected to the November 2021 killing in Albuquerque of Mohammad Ahmadi, 62, a Muslim man from Afghanistan. Mr. Ahmadi was killed outside a business he and his brother ran on San Mateo Boulevard, the police said.

The authorities did not elaborate on why they thought the killings may be connected and did not say whether there were any witnesses to the homicides, but they said they believed the Muslim community was being targeted.

The Albuquerque Police Department, along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office, is asking city residents to come forward with any information that could be connected to the killings.

“This is something that impacts us all,” Raúl Torrez, the Bernalillo County district attorney, said at a news conference on Saturday. “Every member of this community has to stand up.”

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said on Twitter on Saturday that the killings were “deeply angering and wholly intolerable” and that she was sending more State Police officers to help the Albuquerque Police and the F.B.I. She also expressed solidarity with the Muslim community in the state.

“We stand with you,” she said.

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Officials with the Islamic Center of New Mexico, still reeling from the Friday night funeral service for Mr. Hussain and Mr. Hussein, said they were shocked to learn of another death the next morning, and that the slayings have Muslims in the city fearing for their safety.

“We are incredibly sickened with the idea that someone has this much hate against innocent people,” said Ahmad Assed, the president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico. “We’re scared for our families, we’re scared for our children. And we are incredibly confused about why this is happening.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations, the largest nonprofit Muslim civil rights group in the country, said Friday that it would offer a $10,000 reward to anyone who could provide information that would lead to the arrest and conviction of the person responsible for the killings.

“We’ve really never seen something like this, where there’s multiple similar murders that really seem connected,” said Ibrahim Hooper, the national communications director for the council.

Nihad Awad, the national executive director of the council, said in an interview that the tragedies affected not only the Muslim community but all Americans. “We must be united against hate and violence regardless of the race, faith or background of the victims or the perpetrators,” he said. “We urge anyone with information about these crimes to come forward by contacting law enforcement.”

Amid the shock, outrage and anxiety, those who knew the victims also expressed their grief and paid tribute on Saturday.

Erika Roberts, who went to graduate school with Mr. Hussain at the University of New Mexico, remembered her classmate as always having a smile on his face.

“Muhammad was friendly and enthusiastic about everything he did,” she said. “I was impressed that coming from Pakistan, he dedicated himself to making our communities in New Mexico better, safer and more compassionate.”

She added: “He always had a kind word to say. Nothing bitter ever came from him.”

Read the full article here

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A journalist since 1994, he also founded DMGlobal Marketing & Public Relations. Glover has an extensive list of clients including corporations, non-profits, government agencies, politics, business owners, PR firms, and attorneys.

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Tune in to BlackUSA.News 7 Days a Week: NYC, Baltimore, DC, ATL, LA, OAKLAND

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(BALTIMORE – March 14, 2023) – Do check our shows on BlackUSA.News. We stream LIVE to Facebook, YouTube, & Twitter daily. Our hosts hail from New York, Baltimore and Prince George’s County, MD, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Oakland, and Los Angeles.

We cover business, politics, lifestyle, community, entertainment, authors, actors, actresses, the metaverse and so much more! Check us out!

 

 

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Black Press Day, March 16th, 12-2p, Nancy by SNAC, BALTIMORE

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(BALTIMORE – March 14, 2023) – Founded on March 16, 1827, as a four-page, four-column standard-sized weekly, Freedom’s Journal was the first black-owned and operated newspaper in the United States, and was established the same year that slavery was abolished in New York State.

The newspaper was founded at 5 Varick Street in Lower Manhattan, New York, by Jamaican-born John Brown Russwurm, Bowdoin College’s first African American graduate and only the third Black person to graduate from an American college.

Cofounder Samuel Eli Cornish, born in Sussex County, Delaware, and a graduate of the Free African School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, also founded Shiloh Presbyterian Church, the first Black Presbyterian Church in Manhattan, in 1822.

Come out and join Black Press professionals as we commemorate the very beginning of the 196-year legacy.

RSVP to https://blackpressday.eventbrite.com

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STEM Summer Camp Scholarships (June 2023 to August 2023) sponsored by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity of Montgomery County, MD, and The KID Museum

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Image courtesy of Canva.com and Kubilay Tutar, http://www.kubilayhocam.com/, @kubilayhocamedu

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”

– Benjamin Franklin, Founding Father

(WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 24, 2023) – Alpha Phi Alpha, Montgomery County chapter and KID Museum have agreed to partner in celebration of Black History Month in providing upwards of 50 scholarships to qualifying students (Grades 4-8) for STEM summer camps in Bethesda, Maryland, June 2023 – August 2023.

The McGee STEM Youth Scholarship program seeks to expand the STEM pipeline for African American youth, with a goal to provide a generous level of financial support to families that qualify and that are in need of assistance for attendance to the KID Museum summer camp.

Upon approval, families receive a $10 registration fee, instead of the usual $490 cost; participants receive a Brigadier General Charles McGee lapel pin and certificate upon completion of camp.

KID Museum provides an extraordinary experience in the Washington, D.C., Metro area, for youth and adults alike. It hails as the region’s pioneering experiential museum and educational makerspace, fostering the “Mind of a Maker” and empowering young people to be agents for change.

Alpha Phi Alpha promotes scholarship and academic excellence and its members are esteemed in such STEM fields as engineering, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, scientists, technology professionals and educators.

Applicants can apply at www.charlesmcgeestem.org. Registration is first-come, first served. And the registration date began February 1, 2023. Here is a link to the press release: https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/614678309/alpha-phi-alpha-and-kid-museum-launch-partnership-during-black-history-month-to-provide-stem-summer-camp-scholarships

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