Kansas City- Authorities arrested a 73-year old man after he openly fired at people that resulted to death of three people at a Jewish community center and a retirement home on Sunday in Overland Park in Kansas City.
Police apprehended Frazier Glenn Cross at a nearby elementary school for two shooting incidents that occurred at Jewish Community Campus and at the Village Shalom.
Cross used a shotgun to openly fire at people that killed Dr. William Lewis Corporan, his 14-year-old grandson, Reat Griffin Underwood, and a woman whose name was not yet released by authorities.
Authorities found out that Cross was not a resident of Overland Park and that he used to be the "grand dragon" of the Ku Klux Klan, a group that ran illegal paramilitary and slurred minorities.
Cross, whose real name is Frazier Glenn Miller, was charged with premeditated murder and detained at the Johnson County Jail.
Cross emerged into the community campus first and then fired at the two people in the parking lot at about 1:00 in the afternoon. The two victims were Dr. Corporan who died at the scene and Reat Underwood who died at a nearby hospital.
At the time of the incident, an audition for the singing scholarship, KC Superstar was being held where Underwood was a participant. His grandfather, Dr. Corporan was there to accompany him until Cross fired at them.
The suspect fled at a nearby retirement home, Village Shalom and fired again, immediately killing a woman, while two others were able to dodge the gunshots.
Overland Park Police Chief John Douglas said in a press conference that authorities are looking into the possibility of the incident as hate crime, but refused to jump into conclusions. "We're investigating it as a hate crime. We're investigating it as a murder," he stated.
The incident happened before the Jewish festival, Passover. Also, after Cross was arrested, he shouted, "Hail Hitler."
"We know it was a vicious act of violence, and we know obviously it was at two Jewish facilities. One might make that assumption," Douglass said the reporters in the conference.
He clarified that there was no indication that he knew the victims.
President Barrack Obama expressed his lament for the "horrific" shooting incident. "While we do not know all of the details surrounding today's shooting, the initial reports are heartbreaking."
President Obama committed that he is in close contact with authorities to provide the necessary resources.
Security along the Jewish community tightened after the incident.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
