Dallas, June 19 (RHC)-- U.S. authorities are now probing the recent hangings of six people of color in four states.  Officials have ruled every case to be a suicide, but many fear some of the deaths might be modern-day lynchings. 

On Wednesday, police found a 17-year-old African American boy hanging from a tree in an elementary school playground in Spring, Texas.  On Monday, a Latino man was found hanged in Houston.  Hangings have also been reported in New York City; Portland, Oregon; and in the California cities of Victorville and Palmdale. Meanwhile, a hate crime probe has begun in Oakland, California, after five nooses were found hanging from trees in the city.