Article author:
Associated Press
Police said on Saturday that the latest killing victim was a Muslim from South Asia and believed to be in his mid-20s. The man, whose identity has yet to be confirmed by investigators, was found dead after police received a call of the shooting.
Earlier this week, police confirmed that local detectives and federal law enforcement officers were investigating links to separate crimes, two of whom were Muhammad Afzar Hussein, 27. and Aftab Hussein, 41, were killed last week. Both were from Pakistan and were members of the same mosque. The third incident was the murder of Mohammad Ahmadi, 62, a South Asian Muslim, in November.
"There is reason to believe that this death is related to the shooting," Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said at a news conference on Saturday.
Police declined to say whether the Friday night killings were carried out in a manner similar to the other killings.
Authorities have not identified a suspect. said it is not yet known whether the shooting was a hate crime until a motive can be determined.
The murders come as Albuquerque is well on its way to another record killing year.
"As you can imagine, our community has been devastated," said Ahmad Acedo, president of the Islamic Center of New Mexico. "We've never experienced anything like this before. This is a really surreal time for us."
A $15,000 reward was offered for information leading to an arrest.
