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(NEW YORK) — Schools are the third-highest location for hate crimes in the United States, with as much as 10% of all reported hate crimes in 2022 happening at schools across the country, according to a new report the FBI released Monday.

Secondary schools — comprised of preschool to 12th grade — saw the highest amount of hate crimes from 2018 to 2022, the report found.

In 2022, there were more than 1,300 reported hate crimes at schools and college campuses — 890 of which happened at secondary schools that year, the FBI found.

“During these five years, over 30 percent of juvenile victims of hate crimes, experienced the offense at school and nearly 36 percent of juvenile offenders committed the offense at school,” the report said.

Hate crimes at school came in behind hate crimes committed at home and on the road, the FBI found.

School hate crimes saw an increase in 2022 — the most recent year of data obtained by the FBI.

The 2022 uptick is noticeable compared to the previous two years when the COVID-19 pandemic forced many students from traditional places of learning such as schools and college campuses. Also, there was a drop from 2019 to 2020 when the pandemic occurred. The FBI noted in its report that a 3.9% drop in reported of hate crimes from 2019 to 2020 “may have been due to pandemic-related stay-at-home orders causing schools to shift from in-person classes to online learning.”

Asked by reporters Monday about the impact of the pandemic on the hate crime data, FBI officials did not answer.

There is a more common time of year for hate crimes in schools, according to the FBI.

“The most common quarter for the occurrence of hate crimes reported at schools during the entire five-year period from 2018 to 2022 was October – December, with nearly a third (32.7 percent) of offenses reported for this quarter,” the report said.

During the five-year period, the FBI found the month of October had four hate crime offenses per day in schools across the country.

Anti-Black or African American hate crimes were the highest with 1,690 offenses that took place at schools over the five-year period, followed by anti-Jewish hate crimes, which saw 745 and anti-LGBTQ, which saw 741, according to the FBI.

In 2022, there were more hate crime offenses than the previous years in the five-year FBI review. The FBI found that there were 11,643 reported hate crime incidents involving 13,346 related offenses reported in 2022. The FBI defines an “incident” as one or more offenses committed by the same offender, or group of offenders acting together at the same time and place — therefore, “an incident may involve more than one offense,” the FBI wrote in the report.

While 2022 had the most overall reported hate crime offenses, 2020 was not far behind with 12,895, and 2021 had 12,470, according to the FBI. There were nearly 5,000 more reported hate offenses in 2022 than in 2018, the FBI report said.

Intimidation was the biggest form of hate crime, according to the FBI, followed by vandalism and simple assault.

On the call with reporters, the FBI said it wants the report to “draw attention to the data,” and said state and local law enforcement are best to offer resources to schools — not the FBI.

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(VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.) — Police are hunting for a man who they say followed an elderly woman home from a shopping trip and assaulting her on the doorstep of her own home.

The incident began at a store in Virginia Beach, Virginia, on Monday in the 400 block of Putnam Road when, according to the Virginia Beach Police Department, a man began following an elderly woman around inside the establishment for reasons currently unknown.

“The man followed the woman throughout the store she was shopping in,” said the Virginia Beach Police Department in a statement following the incident. “He then followed her out of the store, making lewd comments to her in the parking lot.”

The woman subsequently got into her vehicle and left the premises to go home but, unbeknownst to her, the suspect followed her in his car back to her house before launching his assault on her at her front door, police said.

The motive for the attack is currently unknown and police are searching for a suspect they are describing as a “Black male wearing glasses, a black hair covering, a red long sleeve shirt, jeans, and boots,” according to the Virginia Beach Police Department’s statement following the incident.

The suspect was driving a “white 4-door Buick sedan with a spare tire on the rear driver’s side,” police said. “The vehicle has a sunroof, tinted windows, and Virginia tags attached to the vehicle with the last four possibly being 7663.” There is no front tag on the vehicle.

Police are now asking anyone with knowledge of this incident, or who may be able to identify this individual, to please contact the VBPD Detective Bureau at 757-385-4101 or anonymously through Crime Solvers at 1-888-LOCK-U-UP/P3tips.com.

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(LOS ANGELES) — Arrests have been made after six people were found shot to death last week in a desert community in San Bernardino County, California, according to authorities.

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said it would announce more information at a press conference Monday evening. It was unclear how many people were arrested or any information on the charges.

“No information will be released prior to the press conference,” law enforcement said.

Shortly after 8 p.m. local time Tuesday evening, authorities responded to a wellness check in a remote area off of Highway 395 and found “multiple deceased people,” San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.

Initially, five people were found dead Tuesday but a sixth body was located Wednesday morning during the ongoing investigation, San Bernardino County sheriff’s spokesperson Mara Rodriguez said at a news conference.

The FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives had offered assistance to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department in the investigation into the bodies found in the desert about 50 miles outside of Los Angeles, but local investigators are handling the case themselves.

A blue Chevy SUV was also seen riddled with bullet holes in the area some of the bodies were found.

Last week, law enforcement sources told ABC News there was not yet a clear picture of what led up to the murders.

The investigation remains ongoing, according to officials.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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(NEW YORK) — When a former college professor opened fire at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, last month, killing three faculty members and injuring one, he had with him two laminated cards with details about his targets, according to a new confidential law enforcement investigative synopsis obtained by ABC News.

The Jan. 26 synopsis included new investigative details compiled by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. It revealed suspect Anthony Polito, 67, had a blood-stained, yellow, two-sided index card with job titles and room numbers, as well as a second, white, laminated card with employee photos, room numbers and crude comments written on it.

Polito died at the scene of the Dec. 6 shooting after a firefight with officers, about 10 minutes after shots were first reported at UNLV’s Beam Hall.

The investigative report said all but one of 22 white powder letters Polito allegedly sent to university workers across the country were intended for people related to his professional and academic background, but the one exception was a vehicle insurance claims supervisor.

In the letters sent to women, Polito allegedly called them derogatory names and made sexual allegations. He claimed one woman demanded that he and other faculty wore neckties because they were a sign of “male patriarchy,” the report said.

The powders were not harmful, police said.

Polito had applied to numerous colleges and was denied employment, authorities said.

Polito’s personal website was full of highlights about his career and life, including his intelligence, the report said. Law enforcement believes Polito’s attack was prompted by an inferiority complex and delusions of grandeur about himself, according to the investigative report. It is also believed he had grievances involving his career.

Polito used a legally purchased handgun in the mass shooting and was armed with more than 150 rounds of ammunition, according to authorities.

The UNLV employees killed were business professor Cha Jan Chang, assistant accounting professor Patricia Navarro Velez and associate professor of Japanese studies Naoko Takemaru.

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(PHILADELPHIA) — A teenage murder suspect who escaped from a hospital Wednesday has been captured, the Philadelphia Police Department confirmed Sunday.

Shane Pryor, 17, who was in custody for a 2020 fatal shooting and who had escaped from the Juvenile Justice Services Center staff at a hospital on Wednesday, was taken into custody “without incident” by the U.S. Marshals Service, authorities said. He was being taken to the Philadelphia Police Department Homicide Unit, police said.

No further information is available, authorities said.

At a news conference Wednesday, Deputy Commissioner of Investigations Frank Vanore said Pryor escaped from the emergency room parking lot of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia shortly before noon on Wednesday after he was transported there from the Juvenile Justice Services Center for an apparent hand injury.

“He was able to escape from staff and run from this area on foot,” Vanore said.

According to court documents, Pryor was being held on murder charges for the October 2020 shooting of Tanya Harris. He was 14 years old at the time of the alleged shooting, which occurred in an alleyway in the Holmesburg neighborhood of Philadelphia. In December 2023, the courts decided to try Pryor as an adult.

At the time of his arrest, Pryor told police he solicited the victim for sex but that the woman was shot by another man, according to court documents.

Pryor’s defense attorney, Paul DiMaio, said his client “has always maintained his innocence,” and pointed to the December 2023 court decision as a motive for his escape. “He may have felt he wasn’t going to get a fair shake,” DiMaio told WPVI.

On Friday, police arrested the alleged accomplice of Pryor — 18-year-old Michael Diggs.

Diggs was Pryor’s alleged getaway driver, police said. Diggs was detained several hours after the escape and now faces multiple felony charges, authorities said Friday.

Following his escape from custody, Pryor was observed on surveillance footage entering a Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia building, where he asked an employee to use her cellphone but was denied, Clark said. He left and was able to use a civilian’s phone to allegedly call his “associate,” Diggs, according to U.S. Marshals Deputy Rob Clark.

Diggs arrived around 12:30 p.m. and allegedly picked up Pryor in a cream-colored Ford Fusion and left the University City neighborhood, Clark said.

Diggs has since been charged with hindering apprehension, escape, use of communication facility and criminal conspiracy in connection with Pryor’s escape, police announced on Friday. Attorney information for Diggs wasn’t immediately available.

ABC News’ Meredith Deliso, Chris Donato and Leah Sarnoff contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Fifteen million Americans are under flood watch and eight million are facing winter and snow alerts Sunday as a coastal storm drenching the Northeast is predicted to downpour for most of the day.

What’s falling from the sky depends on where you are and when. The dynamic storm is running into just enough cold air to help change the rain to wet snow, especially in the higher elevations.

Winter weather advisories are in effect for several locations in the Northeast with an upgrade to winter storm warnings for parts of Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire.

While some parts of the Northeast will see a few breaks in rain during the day, weather forecasters predict a cloudy, rainy and snowy day for millions of people.

A photo taken at Lake Michigan this week shows a man walking through a thick sheet of fog along the shore near Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium.

Monday morning, the storm will be just about gone in the East, but there still could be a few leftover snow showers making for a slick Monday morning commute.

Over the weekend, much of America was hit with severe weather as heavy rain, gusty winds and frequent lightning threatened southwestern states while Alabama, Georgia and the Florida panhandle were at risk of isolated tornados.

In the West, record warmth settles in across much of the coast today and tomorrow. Temperatures are soaring into the 60s and 70s from San Francisco to Seattle, with more than a dozen cities looking at record-high temperatures into the work week.

However, the beautiful weather is predicted to come to an end by the middle of the week, as the next storm system is predicted to arrive on the West Coast on Wednesday and Thursday.

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(VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.) — Recovery efforts are underway after a vehicle drove off a Virginia fishing pier and became fully submerged in ocean waters early Saturday morning, police said.

A 911 caller reported the incident around 6:52 a.m. ET at the Virginia Beach Fishing Pier, police said.

Officers arrived on the scene within minutes, where witnesses told them a car crashed through the gates of the wooden pier before it went into the water, a Virginia Beach Police Department spokesperson told ABC News.

A video posted to Facebook of the incident, first reported by The Virginia Pilot, shows a car driving along the pier and braking slightly before plunging off the edge into the water.

The car was completely submerged by the time the officers arrived and could not be seen from the pier, the police spokesperson said.

The number of occupants in the vehicle is unclear. Officers presume anyone in the submerged vehicle to be dead, the spokesperson said.

The motive of the driver is also unknown, the spokesperson said.

A marine patrol unit with sonar equipment was called in to assist and the vehicle was located in the water. Police are working with Virginia Beach Fire and other local authorities on a plan to recover the vehicle and any occupants.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing.

The pier, which is located along a three-mile boardwalk in the southeastern Virginia city, is currently closed for the season.

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(WICHITA, Kan.) — Authorities are calling on the public for help in finding the suspects who stole a statue of baseball legend Jackie Robinson from a public park in Wichita, Kansas.

Surveillance video captured the suspects entering Jackie Robinson Pavilion in McAdams Park around midnight on Thursday and removing the statue, placing it in a pickup truck.

The suspects cut off the statue at the ankles, leaving behind only Robinson’s feet. The city estimates the damages are around $75,000.

“I’m frustrated by the actions of those individuals who had the audacity to take the statue of Jackie Robinson from a park where kids and families and our community gather to learn the history of Jackie Robinson, an American icon, and play the game of baseball,” Wichita Chief of Police Joe Sullivan said during a Friday press conference. “This should upset all of us. What troubles me even more is that the theft occurred just before the beginning of February, which marks the start of Black History Month.”

The statue was built by artist John Parsons and donated to the community by League 42, a nonprofit named after Robinson’s number with the Brooklyn Dodgers that aims to introduce baseball to the youth of Wichita.

“Overnight, something really terrible happened. The Jackie Robinson statue at our McAdams Park facility for League 42 was stolen,” the non-profit wrote in a Facebook post. “This is a gut punch to our organization.”

Councilman Brandon Johnson, a member of the Wichita City Council, said during the press conference said he’s spoken to many families that feel hurt and disappointment over the statue being stolen.

“It was one of the few times in life I’m speechless. This horrendous, disgusting act really caused me a pause,” Johnson said. “So again, like the chief and the [district attorney] said, if you’ve got that statue, bring it here today, now.”

The Wichita Metro Crime Commission said during the press conference it is offering up to a $2,500 reward for tips leading to arrests and a separate reward up to $5,000 for tips that lead to finding the statue. The tips can be made anonymously.

“Once the statue is returned, we also want the individuals who robbed our community of a treasure to be held accountable for their actions and I assure you they will,” Sullivan said. “The resources of the Wichita Police Department have been mobilized.”

Robinson is known for being the first baseball player to break the color barrier in the modern era of Major League Baseball. He played for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro leagues and for the minor league Montreal Royals before being signed to the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.

The signing signaled the end of segregated baseball and led to other Black players to joining the major leagues. During his time with the Dodgers, Robinson won Rookie of the Year in 1947, was named National League MVP in 1949, was a six-time All Star and won the World Series in 1955.

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(NEW YORK) — The eastern United States is being hit with severe weather this weekend, bringing flooding to the Southeast, rain to the mid-Atlantic and snow to the Northeast.

This weekend, 20 million Americans from Atlanta to Washington, D.C., are under a flood watch as heavy rain, gusty winds and frequent lightning threaten the southwestern U.S. Meanwhile, Alabama, Georgia and the Florida panhandle at risk of isolate tornados.

After picking up around two months’ worth of rain in the last few days, parts of eastern Texas and Louisiana are still dealing with major river flooding.

The Trinity River just northeast of Houston is currently in a Major Flood Stage — meaning significant to catastrophic, life-threatening flooding — and is forecast to stay above flood levels through at least Wednesday.

This overall storm system will take a turn up the east coast, bringing rain and snow to a wide area. Rain and snow begins in the Northeast early on Sunday, continuing in varying intensity from the daytime into Sunday night.

Higher elevations of Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine will all be looking at several inches of snow, with some spots, including Boston and Albany, getting between 6 to 12 inches. Meanwhile smaller cities like Stanford and Erie are only likely to see about 1 to 3 inches of now.

Lower elevations, including major cities along the I-95 corridor, such as New York City, will likely see a wet snow that mixes with rainfall, limiting any snow accumulation.

The mid-Atlantic, including Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., are expected to get 1 to 2 inches of rain as record high temperatures hit the area.

Washington D.C. reached 80 degrees on Friday for the first time in its 152-year history of weather records. Previously, the record for the earliest 80-degree day was February 21, 2018.

It wasn’t the only city to reach a record temperature. Charleston, South Carolina reached 83 degrees on Friday, breaking the previous record set for that day in 1949 and tying the city’s record for January, according to NWS Charleston.

Additionally, Wilmington, North Carolina also reached 83 degrees, breaking its all-time highest temperature from the month of January, NWS Wilmington reported.

The west will also be experiencing weather with an atmospheric river event soaking the Pacific Northwest over the weekend.

An atmospheric river is a long, narrow region atmosphere that transports water outside of the tropics, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. When the atmospheric rivers make landfall, the waterfall can either be rain or snow, the NOAA said.

The heaviest rain will likely be along the coast of Washington and Oregon, with several inches likely to cause scattered flooding.

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(ANNAPOLIS, Md.) — Several people were injured in a “serious” multi-vehicle crash that occurred on the U.S.-50 Bay Bridge in Maryland Saturday morning, authorities said.

The incident occurred around 8 a.m. ET on the westbound span of the bridge, which crosses the Chesapeake Bay.

“Multiple” patients have been transported to area hospitals, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority Police. No additional information on the extent of their injuries has been released at this time.

The number of vehicles involved in the crash was also not immediately disclosed.

US-50 Bay Bridge Westbound; All lanes remain closed for multi-vehicle crash. EB and WB traffic platooning (Alternating turns) on the Eastbound Bridge. Expect major delays. For real time Bay Bridge updates, call 1-877-BAYSPAN (1-877-229-7726). #MDTraffic pic.twitter.com/bCKEWFoYKC

— MDTA (@TheMDTA) January 27, 2024

The westbound span of the bridge was closed for several hours following the crash, as tow operators were working to clear vehicles. All lanes have since reopened, the Maryland Transportation Authority said Saturday afternoon.

Authorities advised people to continue to expect delays in both directions.

Maryland Transportation Authority Police officers are investigating the incident.

The bridge’s dual spans are four miles long, making them among the longest over-water structures in the world, according to the Maryland Transportation Authority.

Also known as the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge, it connects the eastern shore of Maryland with the areas of Annapolis, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

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