UNM honors Muslim killing victim with posthumous scholarship

The University of New Mexico has established a scholarship in memory of a former graduate student who was one of four Muslim men gunned down in an Albuquerque killing spree.

The Santa Fe New Mexican reported Thursday that the scholarship in Muhammad Afzaal Hussain’s name will be awarded to any incoming or current international students from the Middle East or South Asia.

Hussain’s brother, Muhammad Imtiaz Hussain, said he was proud his brother would be remembered and that he accomplished so much as an immigrant from Pakistan.

Afzaal Hussain, 27, was Espanola’s urban planning and land use director. He also had worked on the campaign of a New Mexico congresswoman. At UNM, he was president of the school’s Graduate and Professional Student Association.

He was shot to death Aug. 1 while taking his evening walk.

Authorities say the killings began with the November 2021 slaying of 62-year-old Mohammad Ahmadi. The other two happened just days apart from Afzaal Hussain’s. Naeem Hussain, 25, and Aftab Hussein, 41, were both from Pakistan. Hussein attended the same mosque as Afzaal Hussain.

Muhammad Syed, an Afghan refugee, has been charged in the shooting deaths of Afzaal Hussain and Hussein. He is suspected in the other two.

He has denied any involvement.