{"id":13584,"date":"2014-04-14T06:49:09","date_gmt":"2014-04-14T12:49:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=13584"},"modified":"2014-04-15T08:18:04","modified_gmt":"2014-04-15T14:18:04","slug":"jewish-organizations-on-alert-after-fatal-shootings-in-kansas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/jewish-organizations-on-alert-after-fatal-shootings-in-kansas\/","title":{"rendered":"Jewish organizations on alert after fatal shootings in Kansas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By HEATHER NORRIS, Courtesy of the <em>Baltimore Jewish Times<\/em><\/p>\n<p>(JNS.org) &#8212; Kansas\u2019s tight-knit Jewish community was rocked just one day before the beginning of Passover as an alleged gunman took the lives of three people and injured another in attacks just minutes apart outside the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City in Overland Park and a local retirement village.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_13585\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/JCC_KC.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13585\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13585 lazyload\" title=\"JCC_KC\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/JCC_KC-300x151.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"151\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/JCC_KC-300x151.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/JCC_KC.jpg 500w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/151;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-13585\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-13585\" title=\"JCC_KC\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/JCC_KC-300x151.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"151\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/JCC_KC-300x151.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/04\/JCC_KC.jpg 500w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-13585\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City. (Credit: Facebook.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>According to various news reports, at about 1:00 p.m., shots were reported outside the JCC\u2019s theater entrance, where auditions were being held for a singling competition for area teenagers. One man, identified as retired Oklahoma physician Dr. William Lewis Corporon, 69, was killed at the scene, while his grandson, 14-year-old Reat Griffin Underwood (Losen) died after being rushed to a local hospital. Reports suggest that Underwood, who was an Eagle Scout candidate (Life Scout), was planning on taking part in the &#8220;KC Superstar&#8221; singing competition being held at the JCC, hoping to win a college scholarship.<\/p>\n<p>The suspect, identified as Frasier Glenn Miller (aka Fraiser Glenn Cross, Jr.), 73, \u2014described later in the day by police officers who apprehended him as a bearded white male \u2014then fled to the Village Shalom retirement community and opened fire, killing Terri LaManno, 53, a therapist who worked with visually impaired children and was visiting her mother at the home.<\/p>\n<p>The shooter fled to a nearby school, where he was arrested.<\/p>\n<p>Two others were shot at, but not injured. Some reports said that\u00a0 asked people if they were Jewish before firing his weapon and that he shouted \u201cHeil Hitler\u201d about the time of his arrest.<\/p>\n<p>A post on the JCC\u2019s Facebook page says the institution would be closed Monday. As people in cities across the country finished their last-minute Passover preparations\u2014the eight-day festival begins Monday night\u2014JCCs, across the country, benefited from a beefed-up police presence.<\/p>\n<p>While the FBI and local police have not officially called the violence a hate crime, many national organizations are not waiting for confirmation to denounce the shootings.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnfortunately, this is not the first time there has been a shooting at a Jewish Community Center,\u201d read a statement from B\u2019nai B\u2019rith International. \u201cComments attributed to the shooter after police had him in custody demonstrate a blind hatred toward Jews.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Anti-Defamation League, meanwhile, noted that just a week before, it released a security bulletin to communal institutions warning of the increased potential for violence around Passover and the April 20 birthday of Adolf Hitler. That day \u201chas historically been marked by extremist acts of violence and terrorism, including the violence at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas, and the Oklahoma City bombing,\u201d read the statement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe mourn the tragic loss of life in today\u2019s shootings in the Overland Park, Kan., Jewish community,\u201d Rabbi David Saperstein, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, said in a statement. \u201cInformation about the perpetrator is still being uncovered, but early reports indicate that anti-Semitism may have been a factor. If so, it is a tragic reminder, this day before Jews around the world observe Passover, of the hatred that continues to plague our world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is also yet another horrific instance of an act of senseless violence involving the use of guns to take innocent lives,\u201d continued Saperstein. \u201cOur thoughts and prayers are with the families of those killed and injured in today&#8217;s shootings. May the memories of those lost be forever a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"Jewish%20organizations%20on%20alert%20after%20fatal%20shootings%20in%20Kansas\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":13585,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[8790,8795,5285,8788,1495],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13584"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13584"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13584\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13588,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13584\/revisions\/13588"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13584"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13584"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13584"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}