Hate crimes across the US rose to their highest level in more than a decade last year, the FBI said Monday.
The US saw 7,314 hate crimes in 2019, up from 7,120 in 2018 — and the highest level in 12 years, according to a new FBI report.
Fifty-one people were killed in hate attacks in 2019 — including the 22 murdered in an El Paso Walmart massacre that authorities say was carried out by a gunman targeting Hispanics, the New York Post reports.
Religious groups have been increasingly targeted, as officials saw a nearly 14 percent increase in attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions, the report found.
The FBI said the number of hate crimes against African Americans dropped slightly to 1,930 from 1,943, however crimes against Hispanics rose to 527 in 2019 from 485 in 2018. 17 percent of all hate crimes were motivated by sexual orientation — a number that remained relatively stable.