Story highlights Police: Victims range from ages 16 to 20

"This is a long-term war" against MS-13

(CNN) Police on Long Island, New York, have discovered the bodies of four young people authorities suspect may have been killed by members of the international MS-13 gang, officials said Thursday.

Authorities believe the four males, ranging from ages 16 to 20, were killed several days ago in a park in Central Islip, a working-class community about 47 miles east of New York City. Suffolk County Police found the bodies late Wednesday in a wooded area. It wasn't immediately clear what led them to the park.

The victims "suffered from significant trauma throughout their body with a sharp or edged instrument," county Police Commissioner Timothy Sini said.

"The manner in which they were killed is consistent with the modus operandi of MS-13," Sini told reporters.

MS-13, also known as La Mara Salvatrucha, is one of the largest criminal organizations in the United States, with more than 6,000 members in at least 46 states and the District of Columbia, the US Attorney's Office said.

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