ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – In 2022, police were looking for the person responsible for killing three Muslim men in a two-week span as the victims’ families dealt with the unexpected losses.

One of those victims was Muhammad Afzaal Hussain, known for being a UNM graduate, and a rising star in local government. That young man’s family asked for support from New Mexicans then, and they’re asking again now. 

“It has been very tough, because losing a young brother, sibling, the youngest sibling and most loved sibling of five, it’s painful,” said Muhammad Imtiaz Hussain, brother of Muhammad Afzaal Hussain. 

Muhammad Afzaal Hussain was shot and killed in August 2022. 

Muhammad Syed is charged with his murder, and the murders of two other Muslim men. A jury took just hours to find him guilty of one of those murders in March. 

Syed goes on trial next month for killing Afzaal Hussain. 

“We were looking for answers, but that answer, we still do not know what has happened,” said Imtiaz Hussain. 

He says those unanswered questions have been more painful than the loss itself.

“This is something very painful. As a person, when I see him, I think why would he have done that? He’s 55 he has family, he has kids, he left his country,” said Imtiaz Hussain. 

One thing that’s made the loss more bearable has been community support. 

“In this community, we are not delineated. We feel that we are part of this community, and the way people are projected and showed their love, it seems that we belong to this land,” said Imtiaz Hussain. 

Now his family is leaning on New Mexicans again to make Afzaal’s dreams come true. Imtiaz just started a nonprofit organization in his honor and is raising money to build an international school.

“He didn’t have any kids, he was not married. So one, his name would live alive, and second, it would be serving people who deserve an unprivileged community,” Imtiaz said. 

He hopes to raise a million dollars for the land and building in his home country of Pakistan to help underprivileged children study and empower themselves. 

The $50,000 goal on his new GoFundMe page is only the beginning of the campaign.

“We believe that the best in the humanity is the person who is more helpful and beneficial for his fellow human beings. So helping fellow human beings is, you know, the biggest cause,” said Imtiaz. 

As of now, Muhammad Syed is scheduled to go on trial for Afzaal’s death next month.