The investigation is in its early stages, Captain Morales said. He added that just because the women were transgender “doesn’t mean it was a hate crime.”

“I can’t just say this is a hate crime from the scene,” he said. “We need to know who killed them, why did he kill, and what were the motivations to say this was a hate crime.”

Puerto Rico’s attorney general, Dennise N. Longo Quiñones, said the Puerto Rico Bureau of Police was working with prosecutors from the Puerto Rico Department of Justice to identify the perpetrators and their motive.

“Our investigation will include addressing any discriminatory animus that would qualify the crime as a hate crime, conduct which would be considered an aggravating sentencing factor in the prosecution of the underlying offenses,” Ms. Quiñones said. “We remain committed to bring justice to all victims of violent crimes in the island.”

Luz Melendez, 29, Ms. Peláez’s cousin, said Ms. Peláez was an easygoing young woman who had been raised by her grandmother and was just beginning to explore the world. On Wednesday, the grandmother recognized her granddaughter’s badly burned car on the news and called the police, Ms. Melendez said.

“In reality, we never thought something like this would happen,” Ms. Melendez said Thursday. “She didn’t have bad friends and she was never in the street. It caught us by surprise since she transitioned so easily and she didn’t ever have any issues.”

Ms. Velázquez’s family could not immediately be reached.

Ms. Velázquez and Ms. Peláez were believed to be the seventh and eighth transgender or gender-nonconforming people to have been killed in the United States this year, according to the Human Rights Campaign.