Deadly Shooting At Kentucky Kroger May Have Been Racially Motivated, Witness Suggests
A deadly shooting at a Louisville Kroger grocery store may have been racially motivated, with a white man allegedly murdering two African-American people and talking about race while exchanging gunfire with a bystander.
As WOIO-TV (Cleveland) reports, on Wednesday afternoon a gunman walked into a busy Kroger on Louisville’s east side and shot several times at an African-American man. The shooter then exited the store and fired shots at an African-American woman. Both victims died at the scene.
At some point during this crime, a bystander exchanged gunfire with the alleged gunman, later identified as 51-year-old Gregory Alan Bush, who is white. During the exchange, Bush allegedly mentioned race.
“Whites don’t kill whites.”
Bush fled the scene, but only managed to get a few blocks before he was apprehended and placed into custody by police.
He faces two charges of murder and 10 counts of felony wanton endangerment. He may yet face more charges, including possible hate-crime charges, as the investigation continues. Meanwhile, the FBI is involved in the investigation as well.
ALERT: Here is the mug shot of the alleged suspect Gregory Alan Bush from the @JeffersontownKY @kroger shooting incident from 10-24-18. He is facing 2 counts of murder and 10 counts of wanton endangerment. Other charges could be pending. He does have a criminal history. pic.twitter.com/Gc3vwrADuQ
— Aaron Ellis (@aaronellis01) October 25, 2018
As of this writing, police have not identified the victims or any possible motive. However, self-described “anti-racism strategist” Tariq Nasheed posted on Twitter a photo of an African-American woman whom he claims is a victim of the shooting. He also claims Bush is a “white supremacist.” It is unclear how or why Nasheed claims to know that this woman was one of the victims, or that Bush is supposedly a white supremacist.
RIP to Vickie Jones, the 2nd Black victim who was murdered by white supremacist Gregory Alan Bush at a Kroger store. The mainstream media is trying to minimize and ignore these Black victims. But we WILL put some respect on their names. These race war victims did not die in vain pic.twitter.com/kyAEYr4Io6
— Tariq Nasheed ?? (@tariqnasheed) October 25, 2018
The Louisville Courier-Journal, citing anonymous sources, claimed on Wednesday that the male victim was Maurice Stallard, who is the father of Kellie Watson, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer’s chief racial equity officer. The newspaper claims that Stallard was shot in the back while his 12-year-old grandson stood next to him.
RIP to Maurice Stallard Sr. He was one of the two Black victims killed by a white supremacist in a Kentucky Kroger store today. He is the father of Kellie Watson, who is the chief racial equity officer under the Louisville mayor. Several other politicians were targeted today pic.twitter.com/EMuKDDJKF6
— Tariq Nasheed ?? (@tariqnasheed) October 25, 2018
Witnesses and bystanders who were in that Kroger Wednesday afternoon described the chaos via NBC News.
Eric Deacon, who identified himself as an EMT, said he was in the self-checkout lane when he heard the first shots. He also claims to have witnessed the purported shootout between Bush and a bystander and claims that the victim was caught in the crossfire. He made his way to her and tried to revive her, but was unsuccessful.
“She was gone, there’s nothing I could do.”
In a statement, the Kroger company said that they are “shocked and saddened” by the shooting.
“Thanks to the quick response of the local police department, the suspect was apprehended and our store is secure.”
The store is scheduled to be closed through Friday.
