US police say the killings of four Muslim men may be linked

New Mexico police said Saturday they are investigating the killings of three Muslim men, which they suspect may be linked to a fourth murder last year.

The Albuquerque Police Department said in a statement it found the last victim overnight Friday.

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

“Investigators believe Friday’s killing may be linked to three recent killings of Muslim men, including those from South Asia,” the statement said.

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

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

Police urged anyone with information to call a hotline and said the FBI was helping the investigation.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham expressed her outrage at the attacks and her solidarity with the state’s Muslim community in the Southwest.

“The targeted killing of Albuquerque’s Muslim residents is deeply galling and utterly intolerable,” Lujan Grisham said on Twitter.

She said she is sending additional state troopers to Albuquerque to help with the investigation.

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

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

“This tragedy affects not just the Muslim community — it affects all Americans,” Nihad Awad, CAIR’s national executive director, said in a statement.

“We must be united against hatred and violence, regardless of the race, creed or background of the victims or perpetrators.”