US President Joe Biden on Sunday protested the “horrific” murders of four Muslims in the past year in the state of New Mexico, into which police have opened an investigation.
“I am angry and saddened by the horrific murders of four Muslim men in Albuquerque,” the leader wrote in a tweet. “We await the results of a thorough investigation, but I pray for the families of the victims,” he said, assuring that “these hateful attacks had no place in America”.
On Saturday, the authorities of this western American state announced that they were investigating a possible link between the murders of three Muslims in recent weeks and that of another Muslim man committed in November 2021.
In a statement, they said they had found the body of a Muslim victim and “from South Asia” in their twenties on the night of Friday to Saturday.
“Investigators believe this murder may be linked to three recent murders of Muslim men also of South Asian descent,” Albuquerque police said.
Among these victims, two are Pakistani, one was 27 years old when his body was found on August 1, and the other 41 years old. His body was found on July 26.
Detectives are now trying to find out if these murders are linked to the death of a man from Afghanistan killed on November 7, 2021 in front of the business he ran with his brother in this city of 500,000 inhabitants, details the press release.
Police ordered anyone with information to call a hotline and said the FBI was assisting in the investigation.
New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham expressed outrage at the attacks and said she stood in solidarity with the state’s Muslim community.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), America’s largest Muslim civil rights group, announced on Saturday that it was offering a $10,000 reward to anyone who provides information leading to the suspect’s arrest. .
“This tragedy affects not just the Muslim community, but all Americans,” noted Nihad Awad, CAIR’s National Executive Director. “We must be united against hatred and violence, regardless of the race, faith or origin of the victims and perpetrators.”
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