According to police, a 26-year-old pregnant woman was shot near a Brooklyn elementary school this afternoon-and the News says she was shot by her ex-boyfriend. The shooting happened around 2:15 p.m. at the entrance of PS 384 on Cooper Street in Bushwick, shortly before the end of the school day. Witness Asadullah Mayan told the Post that people at the scene held the gunman for police: “She was alone, picking up her kids—it’s crazy,” said Mayan. more ›

According to a CDC report, nearly 15 percent of Hispanic female teenagers in NYC tried to commit suicide in 2008, compared with 10 percent of all city high school girls. In particular, Brooklyn had a 21 percent rate of suicide attempts among teen Latinas. Officials are now trying to figure out why exactly that is...but we're wondering why they're only trying to figure this out now. more ›

This week, we learned that NYC has now become the "marijuana arrest capital of the world." The NYPD arrested 50,383 people for low-level marijuana offenses last year, making low-level pot possession the number one cause of arrest in NYC. But it's important to note who was getting arrested: according to the Drug Policy Alliance’s report, "86 percent of those arrested are Black or Latino, even though research consistently shows that young whites use marijuana at higher rates." more ›

Yesterday, WABC 7 weather anchor Heidi Jones pleaded not guilty to falsely reporting an incident to the police. The criminal complaint says Jones admitted making up a story about being nearly raped/attacked by a Hispanic man twice, while her lawyer says she never said she was a victim of a rape. Now WCBS 2 reports, "Police detectives actually did pick up a Latino who vaguely fit Jones’ description, but he was not arrested, reports CBS 2’s Pablo Guzman. He was quickly released, and the police apologized." Cue "some Puerto Rican guy." more ›

Earlier this year, more than a few New Yorkers were confused and upset why the 2010 Census form didn't offer a racial category for Hispanic or Latino (the Census offer a Hispanic question for ethnicity). Now, NY1 reports that NYC Schools Chancellor Joel Klein sent an email to U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan saying that NYC school officials don't really want to classify students by race, per federal law, "[It] may well be problematic and confusing for many of our community members, particularly Hispanics, and could create a difficult public debate about the collection of this information." more ›

Yesterday in court a Long Island teen candidly described the much-talked about but little-understood practice of "beaner hopping" that led to the hate crime death of Ecuadorean immigrant Marcelo Lucero. “It’s when you go out and you look for a Hispanic to beat up,” 19-year-old Nicholas Hausch told a packed courtroom, recalling several sprees of name-calling, BB-gun shooting and beating. In his testimony, Hausch testified that his friend Jeffrey Conroy told him he'd stabbed Lucero, reports CityRoom. “Imagine if I get away with this,” the Swastika-tatooed teen allegedly boasted to his peers. more ›

Remember those students from Queens who were returning from a college visit when they were pulled over, searched, and cuffed by New Jersey state police officers—sparking allegations of racial profiling and excessive force? Cops denied that the students' skin color had anything to do with the Jersey Turnpike traffic stop, insisting that they only pulled over the van because they received a 911 call warning them that van passengers were carrying guns. Well, it turns out one of the students in the van made that 911 call, according to officials. more ›

In an attempt to punish day laborers and those who employ them, the town of Oyster Bay had implemented a controversial law that immigrant rights activists say makes it illegal to "Wave While Latino." The new legislation imposes fines of $250 on people who solicit employment, which "includes, but is not limited to, shouting at cars, waving arms or signs, making hand signals, approaching motor vehicles or standing in public roads facing in the direction of oncoming traffic," according to the Times. more ›

For the first time ever, black, Hispanic and Asian residents of New York City outnumbered their white counterparts at the polls. In what the Times describes as "a seismic political shift," voters who identified themselves as minorities constituted 51 percent of the vote in November's citywide elections, compared to white voters who made up 46 percent of the total. more ›

Yesterday, the Suffolk County DA's office said that a group of teens, already charged with fatally beating a Hispanic man to death last November, had been on a 13-month-long "hate spree," targeting and terrorizing Latinos. DA Thomas Spota said, "All of the defendants participated in what we consider to be a violent and racially driven pastime" and Newsday detailed some of the crimes:

Last July, at least two of the teens beat a Hispanic man unconscious, stealing his money and shoes. more ›

The NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force is looking for suspects who attacked and beat two Ecuadorian brothers in Brooklyn, as one brother was declared brain dead. He remains in life support as relatives wait for his parents to arrive. more ›