Police: Shooter first tried to access black church
White man fatally shot two African-American store customers
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.
After releasing a photo of the suspect, authorities received a tip from an employee of the city of Jeffersontown who said he thought he saw Gregory Bush outside the First Baptist church prior to Wednesday’s shooting, city police chief Sam Rogers said. The video confirmed Bush’s presence, Rogers said. The church is headed by a black pastor and has a large African-American membership.
Bush “appeared to try to gain access to the church,” Rogers said.
The information came as news media outlets reported that Bush made a racial comment after the deadly shooting at a Kroger in Jeffersontown, a city of about 26,600 people on the outskirts of Louisville.
Rogers said it was too soon, however, to say whether the shooting was racially motivated.
“I can’t speculate on motive at this time,” the chief said at a news conference Thursday. “We are pursuing all avenues of the investigation no matter where that takes us or what it involves.”
The FBI announced that it “is evaluating the evidence to determine if there were any violations of federal law.” Hate crimes are prosecuted under federal law.
Rogers also said Bush apparently does have a history of mental illness, as news outlets have reported.
An arrest report says Bush walked into the Kroger, pulled a gun from his waist and shot a man in the back of the head, then kept shooting him multiple times “as he was down on the floor.”
The report says Bush then reholstered his gun, walked outside and killed a woman in the parking lot. Each victim died of multiple gunshot wounds, Rogers said.
A man carrying a concealed weapon who happened to be in the parking lot challenged Bush and police say the suspect “began firing wildly” at him, putting other shoppers in danger. Neither man was hurt in that confrontation, Rogers said.