While we were watching the bomb story unfold...this happened.

[Jolene Benoir]

Kroger Grocery Store Shooting That Left 2 Dead Now Being Investigated as Possible Hate Crime

The fatal shooting death of two black grocery patrons by a white gunman is being investigated as a possible hate crime, a U.S. official said Friday.

Police said Bush attempted to enter a historically black church minutes before arriving at the grocery store. A surveillance video confirmed Bush’s presence at the Jeffersontown First Baptist Church about 10 to 15 minutes before he went to the Kroger, Police Chief Sam 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.

Ed Harrell was quoted by the Courier Journal of Louisville as saying he was waiting on his wife in the parking lot when he heard gunshots and grabbed his revolver. As he crouched down, he said he saw the gunman walk “nonchalantly” by with a gun by his side. Harrell said he called out to ask what was going on, and the gunman replied: “Don’t shoot me. I won’t shoot you. Whites don’t shoot whites.”

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.

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.