President Donald Trump said Thursday he attended a White House meeting to discuss the growing list of missing or murdered nuclear scientists in the United States who worked on sensitive military and aerospace projects. 

"I hope it's random," Trump told reporters outside the White House. "We're going to know in the next week and a half. I just left a meeting on that subject." 

He also said: "Some of them were very important people, and we are going to look at it." 

So far, there is no public evidence that the deaths or disappearances of 10 scientists linked to secret nuclear and aerospace research since 2023 are connected. However, speculation, including from lawmakers, has grown after several disappearances in recent months.  

Since August, two of the scientists have disappeared in New Mexico. Last August, Steven Garcia, a 48-year-old government contractor, vanished after leaving his home with a handgun. Garcia reportedly worked for the Kansas City National Security Campus, which produces non-nuclear components of the nuclear stockpile. 

Then, in February, William Neil McCasland, a retired Air Force general, also vanished from his home in Albuquerque carrying a firearm. Police say there is no evidence of foul play, but that they continue to investigate the disappearance. 

McCasland managed the Air Force's $2.2 billion science and technology program. 

Others were involved with sensitive aerospace and physics research. Two physicists were shot and killed at their homes in recent months: Nuno Loureiro, a Portuguese professor of nuclear science at MIT, and Carl Grillmair, a Canadian astrophysicist. 

“The disappearance of multiple scientists and military personnel with ties to advanced research is deeply concerning. I’ve already requested FBI involvement, and we will keep pressing for answers," Republican Congressman Eric Burlison posted to social media last month.