The LGBTQ+ Federation of Puerto Rico on Saturday, November 7, asked authorities to investigate every possible motive in the killing of Ernesto "Pupy" Hernández López, 43, including whether it was a hate crime or involved gender-based violence. "After confirming that he was a member of our LGBTQ+ community and as the Police and Justice Department protocols dictate, we ask that all angles be investigated, including hate and gender-based violence," federation president Pedro Julio Serrano said in a statement.
In a later statement, Serrano said San Juan Police officials told him they had activated the protocol for investigating crimes against LGBTQ+ people and would examine both angles. According to the preliminary Police report, a call to the tip line alerted authorities on Friday morning to a dead person in an apartment in building 3 of the Las Margaritas housing complex in Santurce.
Officers found Hernández López’s body in one of the rooms with stab wounds on various parts of his body. The case is being investigated by the Homicide Division of the San Juan Criminal Investigations Corps (CIC). Serrano said Police also confirmed to him that a man found shot dead Saturday in an empty lot in Mayagüez, between the Candelaria housing complex and the PR-2 pedestrian bridge, belonged to the LGBTQ+ community; his identity is unknown.
The federation said it was the second killing of an LGBTQ+ person in less than 24 hours and the fourth so far this year. Serrano said he requested a meeting with Police Superintendent Joseph González to address both cases, and that Mayagüez Police also activated the protocol. Through Thursday, Police had reported 365 killings this year, 28 fewer than the 393 recorded by the same date in 2025.