Charge in hate-slay upgraded to murder
Teens attacked another Hispanic man before Marcelo Lucero was stabbed to death, according to indictment

This is a positive development in this awful, violent hate crime. However, the reaction of some of the community of Patchogue-Medford has been the typical 'blame the media' that was seen when the Mempham High football players were exposed for raping younger players.

State: Patchogue-Medford wrong to force reporter out

Often, people (particularly uneducated ones) react to the media spotlight negatively with little to no regard for the importance of educating the wider public about serious matters. This situation should be a wake-up call for people who may not realize what their young people are doing with their time. Parents, educators and community leaders should insist that this incident will be a major focus of attention for years so that something like this (or the Mepham rapes) will never occur again. Instead of having a Newsday reporter removed from a meeting, the community should invite anyone to ask questions and seek the truth.