Police: Ky. shooting suspect tried to enter black church

JEFFERSONTOWN, Ky. — A white man with a history of violence and mental illness was recorded on surveillance video apparently trying to get inside a predominantly black church in Kentucky before he went to a grocery store and fatally shot two African-Americans, police said.

The video confirmed Gregory Bush’s presence outside the First Baptist Church about 10 to 15 minutes before he went to the grocery store, Jeffersontwon police Chief Sam Rogers said. The church is headed by a black pastor and has a large AfricanAmerican membership.

Bush’s ex-wife is African-American, and she has received protection orders against him after violent outbursts, including an incident in 2009 when she told police he called her racial epithets during a custody exchange of their son. They divorced in 2000.

The local coroner’s office identified the victims as Maurice Stallard, 69, and Vicki Lee Jones, 67.

Bush’s criminal record shows he threatened his ex-wife and punched a deputy sheriff during a family court hearing years ago. He also was charged with assaulting his elderly parents in January 2009. A judge ordered him to comply with mental health treatment and prohibited Bush from possessing firearms for two years.

An arrest citation said Bush’s parents were punched and choked, and they told police they were “terrified of (his) unpredictable behavior.”

Bush’s ex-wife told authorities in a domestic violence petition in 2009 that Bush was “diagnosed paranoid” in 2003 but had stopped taking his medication.