Zee Media Bureau
Overland Park: Three people were killed on Sunday when a gunman opened fire outside Jewish community centres in the Kansas City suburb of Overland Park.
The suspect was arrested shortly after the attack from the parking lot of a nearby elementary school.
The identity of the suspect has been withheld by the US police who are now investigating the motive behind the attack.
"We are investigating it as a hate crime. We`re investigating it as a criminal act. We haven`t ruled out anything. ... Again, we`re three hours into it," Overland Park police Chief John Douglass told AP.
While the police chief suspect said that it was too early in the investigation to determine whether there was an anti-Semitic motive for the attacks or if they will be investigated as hate crimes. The Jewish festival of Passover begins Monday.
Douglass said the first attack happened in a parking lot behind the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City. The attacker shot two males. One died at the scene and the other died at a hospital. He said the suspect then drove to the nearby retirement community, Village Shalom, where he shot and killed a female. The gunman also shot at two other people during the attacks, but missed them, Douglass said.
Douglass said a shotgun was used in the attacks, and that investigators are also trying to determine if a handgun and assault-style rifle may also have been used.
Police officers were also sent to other Jewish facilities in the area immediately after the shootings, the police chief said.
President Barack Obama released a statement expressing his grief over the attack.
"While we do not know all of the details surrounding today`s shooting, the initial reports are heartbreaking," Obama said. "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."
(With Agency Inputs)
