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Ahmad Assed, President of the Islamic Center of New Mexico, at a press conference
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Chancey Bush/AP
After the fourth murder of a Muslim person in Albuquerque, the largest city in the US state of New Mexico with around 560,000 inhabitants, police are looking for connections.
The murder "may be related to three similar homicides in Albuquerque," according to a statement from local police, who are being assisted in their investigation by the federal police (FBI).
On Friday, a person was found dead who, according to consistent media reports, is Naeem Hussain.
Police have not yet confirmed the identity, but described the victim as a Muslim man in his 20s of South Asian descent.
The victim was found at night after someone reported a shooting.
Did the victim just return from the funeral?
Two previous victims, Muhammed Afzaal Hussain, 27, and Aftab Hussein, 41 (unrelated), were killed within a week of just late July and early August in the south-east of the city.
According to the police, both are from Pakistan.
A ceremony for both was held at the Islamic Center of New Mexico on Friday.
The Washington Post reports that Naeem Hussain was present at the funeral.
He was murdered a few hours later.
The first case that police are now linking to the more recent killings dates from November 2021. The victim was Mohammad Ahmadi, a Muslim man from Afghanistan.
According to police reports, all three murders were carried out in a similar way: without warning, the victims were shot in ambush.
"There is a great commonality between the victims, their 'race' and their religion," said Kyle Hartsock, deputy commander in the Albuquerque Police Department's Crime Division, in a statement.
The cases are taken "very seriously" and the public is asked to help identify the perpetrator.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham condemned the "targeted killings of Muslim residents of Albuquerque" as "deeply outrageous and intolerable."
A Muslim civil rights organization offered a reward for information about the perpetrator.
jlk/AFP
