Fourth Muslim man killed in Albuquerque, US police say murders may be linked

Police in the US state of New Mexico said Saturday they are investigating the murders of three Muslim men that they suspect are related to a fourth homicide from last year.

The Albuquerque police department said in a statement they had found the latest victim overnight on Friday.

They did not identify him but said he was in his mid-20s, Muslim and "a native from South Asia."

Police in Albuquerque, New Mexico are urging the city’s Muslim community to be on guard after a fourth Muslim man was killed under similar circumstances

Police say they believe the murders may have been committed by the same person or personshttps://t.co/KO52kXKvEE

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) August 7, 2022

"Investigators believe Friday's murder may be connected to three recent murders of Muslim men also from South Asia," the statement said.

Two of the previous victims were Muslim Pakistani men, a 27-year-old whose body was found on August 1 and a 41-year-old who was found on July 26.

Detectives are now investigating whether these murders are connected to the death of a Muslim man from Afghanistan who was killed on 7 November 2021, outside of the business he ran with his brother in Albuquerque, the statement said.

The police urged anyone with information to call a tip line and said the FBI was assisting with the investigation.

The targeted killings of Muslim residents of Albuquerque is deeply angering and wholly intolerable.

I am sending additional State Police officers to Albuquerque to work in close coordination with APD and the FBI to bring the killer or killers to justice – and they WILL be found.

— Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham (@GovMLG) August 6, 2022

New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham expressed outrage at the attacks and solidarity with the southwestern state's Muslim community.

"The targeted killings of Muslim residents of Albuquerque is deeply angering and wholly intolerable," Lujan Grisham said on Twitter.

She said she was sending additional state police officers to Albuquerque to help with the investigation.

"We will continue to do everything we can to support to the Muslim community of Albuquerque and greater New Mexico," she said.

🚨His death was the latest in what police suspect is a string of homicides targeting Muslim men based on their race and religion in New Mexico. https://t.co/kBnkc64Bmb

— CJ Werleman (@cjwerleman) August 7, 2022

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest US Muslim civil rights group, said Saturday it would offer a $10,000 reward to whoever provides information leading to the killer's arrest.

"This tragedy is impacting not only the Muslim community - but all Americans," CAIR national executive director Nihad Awad said in a statement.

"We must be united against hate and violence regardless of the race, faith or background of the victims or the perpetrators."