Authorities searched for clues Monday into a possible link between the ambush-style killings of four Muslim New Mexico men over a nine-month period.
Albuquerque homicide detectives suspect there could be a connection between the shooting of a man Friday night and two other men killed over the past week in separate incidents. The two men, both from Pakistan, attended the same mosque, according to authorities.
Investigators think the same person may have committed the crimes, said Kyle Hartsock, deputy commander of Albuquerque Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division.
“While we won’t go into why we think that, there’s one strong commonality in all of our victims: their race and religion,” Hartsock said in a statement.
The slayings have left many on edge.
“This has just rocked our community,” Mariam Alabdali, a representative from the Lighthouse of New Mexico Muslim Community Center in Albuquerque, told USA TODAY.
The FBI joined the investigation into whether the three killings could be tied to the slaying of another Muslim man in November.
A Volkswagen Jetta could be the clue investigators need to link the slayings. They seek the public’s help in tracking it down.
Here’s what we know:
Who were the victims?
Mohammad Ahmadi, a Muslim man from Afghanistan, was killed Nov. 7 outside the Albuquerque business he and his brother ran, authorities said. Police found Ahmadi, 62, shot to death in the building’s rear parking lot.
‘TORN THIS COMMUNITY APART’:Alabama town disbands police department after officer’s slavery text surfaces
Aftab Hussein, 41, and Muhammed Afzaal Hussain, 27, from Pakistan were slain in southeast Albuquerque. Hussein was killed July 26, and Hussain on Aug. 1. Investigators said they have determined a link between the killings.
The fourth victim, Naeem Hussain, was fatally shot before midnight Aug. 5, according to investigators. Hussain, 25, was also from Pakistan.
How are authorities responding to the crimes?
The Albuquerque Police Department launched an online portal for members of the public to submit photos or videos that could help detectives investigate the four Muslim killings.
Authorities seek the public’s help locating a vehicle that could be connected to the slayings.
Police released photos of a dark vehicle with tinted windows that appears to be a Volkswagen Jetta. It’s not clear where the photos were taken or why investigators suspect it was involved in the crimes.
ALBUQUERQUE KILLINGS:Albuquerque police seek ‘vehicle of interest’ in killings of 4 Muslim men
Crime Stoppers offers a $20,000 reward, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations will reward $10,000 for information that leads to an arrest, according to the city of Albuquerque.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said additional state police will patrol Albuquerque in light of the slayings.
Reactions to the Albuquerque killings
An “angered” and “saddened” President Joe Biden said his prayers are with the victims’ families.
“My administration stands strongly with the Muslim community,” Biden tweeted Sunday. “These hateful attacks have no place in America.”
Lujan Grisham called the targeted killings “deeply angering and wholly intolerable.”
Muslims living in a community they’d once known as a safe space question why these killings are happening.
Alabdali said the slayings led to hard conversations about what she and her husband would do if a shooter entered their mosque.
“(It was a) discussion we never thought we would have, but with the circumstances, we needed to,” Alabdali said. If it ever happened, her husband told her, she should run and not look back – not even for him.
“That was very upsetting,” she said.
The Lighthouse of New Mexico is ramping up security measures, adding a doorbell so visitors can be seen before being allowed inside, and opening the mosque only for Friday prayer for the time being.
“It’s very sad that you don’t feel safe in the place where you’re supposed to worship,” Alabdali said.
Contributing: The Associated Press