US attack that injured 7 immigrants may have been racially motivated, police say

A shooting attack on Friday (28) in the city of Crete, Nebraska, which left seven Guatemalan immigrants, including four children, injured, may have been racially motivated, according to police, who added that the suspect later committed suicide.

The suspect, identified by police as Billy Booth, opened fire from his home with a shotgun on Friday afternoon.

City Police Chief Gary Young said there was a report in May that the suspect had told victims to go back where they came from and speak English.

When asked if there was a racial component to the shooting, the local police chief said: “There may be. We don’t know. Certainly the context of ‘coming home’ and ‘speaking English’ suggests that.”

The seven people injured in Friday’s shooting suffered non-life-threatening injuries, and four of them were released from the hospital over the weekend, police said at a news conference for reporters. The injured children ranged in age from 3 to 10, while the injured adults ranged in age from 22 to 43.

The victims were from the same family, and authorities said about 15 people were in the home when the suspect opened fire from his own residence.

The Nebraska State Patrol said there was no verbal contact between the suspect and the victims in the moments leading up to the shooting.

Crete has approximately seven thousand inhabitants. About half of its population is of Hispanic origin.

Because it’s important?

Hate crimes against Latinos in the U.S. have surged in recent years amid rhetoric about immigration from Latin American countries. Such hate crimes increased 2.8% from 2021 to 2022 and 41% from 2020 to 2021, according to data shared with the media by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.

Researchers also say these figures may be underreported because some immigrants are hesitant to approach police due to their immigration status.

Source: CNN Brasil

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