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New Police Mexico On Sunday, a "Vehicle of Interest" was launched to investigate what investigators believed were linked to the four fatal shootings of a Muslim man in Albuquerque over the past nine months.
The latest victim was shot Friday night, according to police, and has been killed in recent weeks, according to local Islamic leaders. It happened shortly after he attended the funerals of two others.
Like the first victim shot in November, all three of his men are of Pakistani or Afghan Muslim descent living in Albuquerque, the state's largest city. was, police said.
Police have released few details of the latest murders, but describe his first three killings as ambushes. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham characterized them as "targeted killings of Muslim populations." Expressing solidarity with the religious community, he added, "These hateful attacks will not be tolerated in America."
An Albuquerque police official said at a press conference hours later that he was following a number of leads, and issued a bulletin with a photo of a gray Volkswagen sedan. did. "Interest" under investigation.
It was unclear how the car was linked to the incident, and police said they had not yet determined whether the investigation was looking for a suspect.
According to Tahir Gauba, spokesperson for the Islamic Center of New Mexico, the three recent victims belonged to the same mosque. Authorities were withholding the identity of the man killed on Friday until his next of kin were notified.
But Gauba said he was killed shortly after attending the funerals of his two previous victims.
Muhammad Afzar Hussain, 27, a Pakistani immigrant and planning director for the city of Espanola, was shot dead outside his apartment building on 1 August. Police said the Afghan community was found murdered near the city's international district on July 26. Hussein also participated in New Mexico Rep. Melanie Stansbury's campaign team.
Police said Friday they were linked to the murder of his 62-year-old Mohammad Ahmadi, also a Muslim from Afghanistan, on 7 November. It said it was dealing with these two murders of him in addition to the killing. He was shot dead in a parking lot outside a Halal supermarket and cafe.
"All four murders have some things in common," city police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos told reporters on Sunday.
Asked if investigators considered the killings to be hate crimes, Gallegos said, "Hate is determined by motives, and we don't know the motives at this time."
Gauba said that in and around Albuquerque, a city of over 564,000 inhabitants, he estimated that there were between 3,000 and 5,000 Muslims, and that they They make up about 85% of the total Muslim population.
The New Mexico State Police, the FBI, and the United States Marshals Service are among the agencies assisting the investigation.
(Reporting by Steve Gorman, Los Angeles; Additional reporting by Doina Chak, Washington; Editing by Lisa Shoemaker and Edwina Gibbs)
