By Kanishka Singh
(Reuters) - A shooting on Friday in Crete, Nebraska, that wounded seven Guatemalan immigrants, including four children, may have been racially motivated, police said, adding that the suspect later killed himself.
The suspect identified by police as Billy Booth opened fire from his house in Crete with a shotgun on Friday afternoon.
Crete Police Chief Gary Young said there was a report in May that the suspect had told the victims to go back to where they came from and to "speak English."
WHY IT IS IMPORTANT
Anti-Latino hate crimes in the U.S. have gone up in recent years amid rhetoric surrounding immigration from Latin American countries. Such hate crimes increased by 2.8% from 2021 to 2022 and by 41% from 2020 to 2021, according to data shared with media by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.
Researchers also say such data can be underreported because some immigrants are hesitant to approach police due to their immigration status.
KEY QUOTE
Asked if there was a racial component to the shooting, the local police chief said: "There could be. We don't know. Certainly, the context of 'go home' and 'speak English' lends itself to that."
CONTEXT
The seven people wounded in Friday's shooting had non-life-threatening injuries and four were already released from the hospital over the weekend, police told reporters in a press briefing. The wounded children ranged from ages 3 to 10, while the wounded adults were ages 22 to 43.
The victims were related and officials said around 15 people were at the home when the suspect fired from his house.
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 about 7,000 residents and is located about 70 miles (110 kilometers) southwest of Omaha. About half of its population is Hispanic.