NEW YORK

Another Muslim man in the US state of New Mexico was killed and authorities said Saturday they are working to determine if the murders of the four Muslim men in the past nine months are connected.

Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina told reporters that a "young man who is part of the Muslim community was murdered" on Friday

He said the murder could be linked to three other Muslim men who were killed in "ambush-style shootings" in the past nine months

While authorities reiterated a request for everyone with information about the killings to contact the police, it was reported that security measures were increased in certain areas of the city where the Muslim community resides.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the country's largest Muslim civil rights organization, increased a reward to $10,000 from $5,000 for information leading to the suspect or suspects related to the killings.

Albuquerque police official Kyle Hartsock said Thursday that the person or persons who killed Muslims in the last nine months may be the same individual or individuals.