The president of the Navajo Nation is asking for a meeting with Albuquerque officials about the brutal beatings of two homeless men, who he says were members of the Navajo Nation.
President Ben Shelly says he is appalled by the attack on his people.
But police and prosecutors say they have no evidence the men were targeted because of their race. And neither police nor the medical examiner have confirmed the men's identifications.
Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg says that while the killings were "a hateful act ... evidence to date doesn't indicate a hate crime occurred."
According to a criminal complaint, a 15-year-old boy charged in the slayings told police that he, his 16-year-old brother and an 18-year-old friend had been attacking homeless people in Albuquerque for the past year.
Homeless aren't a protected group under New Mexico's hate crime law.
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