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Jewish Center Shooting Suspect Linked to KKK

CBN

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A man tied to the white supremacist movement is being accused of this weekend's deadly shootings at Jewish facilities in Kansas City, Kan.

The killings took place just before the Jewish Passover holiday begins Monday evening.

The suspect, a 73-year-old Missouri man named Frazier Glenn Miller, reportedly has a history of racist and anti-Semitic activity.

He was heard shouting "Heil Hitler" moments after being handcuffed and put in the back of the police car.

"The initial call came into our dispatch center at 1:03 p.m," Overland Park Chief of Police John Douglas said.

The chaos began Sunday afternoon in a suburb of Kansas City when Miller opened fire in the parking lot of the Jewish Community Center.

"It was really scary," recalled Jenessa Watkins, who was inside the JCC when the shootings took place. "People were calling their loved ones."

About 75 people, many of whom were youngsters, were in the community center at the time of the shooting.

The victims include Dr. William Lewis Corporon, who had accompanied his grandson, Reat Griffin Underwood, 14, to a high school singing competition being held at the community center.

"Several shots were fired at that location and witnesses stated that the suspect left the location soon after," Douglas said.

The name of the third victim, a resident of Village Shalom, a nearby assisted-living center, has not been released.

"Today's' tragic shooting of three people marks a sad day in Overland Park," Mayor Carl Gerlach said.

Sunday's attack comes as anti-Semitic incidents have been on the decline in the United States, although they've been rising in other parts of the world, especially in Europe.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, said Miller is the former grand dragon of the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.

Miller reportedly posted more than 12,000 times on the Vanguard News Network, whose slogan is "No Jews, Just Right."

Still, authorities say it is too early to say whether the shootings were hate crimes.

"Obviously two Jewish facilities, one might make that assumption, but we're going to have to know more about it before we label it," Douglas said.

President Barack Obama called Sunday's fatal shooting "heartbreaking" as prayer services were held in local churches to mourn the victims.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also extended condolences to families of victims.

"We understand that the murders were -- according to indications -- were perpetrated out of hatred of Jews," Netanyahu said. "The State of Israel is at the forefront, along with all civilized peoples who are committed to the struggle against this scourge."

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