Yesterday, multiple shootings occurred at Jewish facilities in Kansas City’s suburbs. The first took place at a Jewish Community Center in Overland Park where 70-year-old Frazier Glenn Miller, also known as Frazier Glenn Cross, opened fire with a shotgun and killed two individuals. A 14-year-old boy and his grandfather were shot and killed as they entered the parking lot of the center to audition for a singing competition. Shortly after, Miller attacked the nearby Village Shalom assisted living center in Leawood where he killed a woman in her 70s. Police apprehended Miller at a local elementary school close to both shooting incidents. He reportedly yelled “Heil Hitler” in front of local reporters before being taken into custody.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Miller founded the Carolina Knights of the Klu Klux Klan and the White Patriot Party in the 1980s. He has a long history of anti-Semitic behavior, and has posted messages on forums that call for the extermination of Jews. Additionally, Miller spent three years in prison for plotting to kill the founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, Morris Dees.
MSA's Research and Intelligence Analysis (RIA) Group has been monitoring this situation closely and has identified the following implications:
- The FBI is currently working with local law enforcement on the investigation, and the incident is being treated as a hate crime.
- At this time, there is no indication that Miller knew his victims.
- The motive behind the attacks will likely be confirmed with Miller now in custody.
- The increased frequency of gun-related violence is part of an ongoing nationwide trend that has security and emergency management professionals developing, coordinating and executing new safety procedures.
- Fatalities can be mitigated with a well-known and rehearsed, comprehensive emergency action plan.
- In this particular incident, emergency contingency plans were implemented quickly at both locations, facilitating lockdown and shelter-in-place measures and possibly saving additional lives.
MSA Security's Research and Intelligence Analysis Group provides real-time intelligence on events and worldwide threats as they evolve.
