KKK leader arrested over Jewish centre killings in US
A white supremacist has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder after three people were shot dead at a Jewish community centre and home for the elderly in the United States.
Frazier Glenn Cross (pictured), 73, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, was reportedly heard by locals shouting “Heil Hitler” as he was handcuffed and led away.
A grandfather and his grandson, both Christian, were killed at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Kansas City, while a woman was killed at Village Shalom several streets away. Two other people were shot at but the shooter missed.
Overland Park police Chief John Douglass said: “We are investigating it as a hate crime. We haven’t ruled anything out.”
Asked if it was linked to the start of the Jewish holiday of Passover, Douglass said: “We know it was a vicious act of violence, and we know obviously it was at two Jewish facilities. One might make that assumption.”
According to reports, the Jewish Community Centre was hosting a dance class and an audition for a play, both for teenagers at the time.
The two men were identified as William Lewis Corporon and his 14-year-old grandson, Reat Griffin Underwood, who were both members of the Church of Resurrection and were killed in the JCC’s car park.
Cross, who also uses the name Frazier Glenn Miller, founded the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and was its “grand dragon” in the 1980s, according to a local law centre which sued him for operating an illegal paramilitary organisation.
The Army veteran and former truck driver later founded another white supremacist group, the White Patriot Party, and ran for Congress in 2006 and 2010 on a white power platform.
In a statement, President Obama called it “heartbreaking” and “horrific,” adding that he had “pledged the full support of the federal government” in the investigation.
“I want to offer my condolences to all the families trying to make sense of this difficult situation and pledge the full support from the federal government as we heal and cope during this trying time,” he said.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
