A 73-year-old man allegedly opened fire at a Jewish community center and a Jewish assisted-living facility near Kansas City, Kansas yesterday, killing three people and injuring two others. After being taken into custody, the suspect, Frazier Glenn Cross, also known as F. Glenn Miller, was heard yelling "Heil Hitler!" from the police cruiser (video). With Passover beginning today, NYC law enforcement agencies are increasing their security.

Mayor Bill de Blasio issued a statement yesterday saying, "On behalf of New York City, we’d like to offer condolences as well as our thoughts and prayers to the victims of the tragic incident this afternoon in the greater Kansas City area, as well as their families and the entire Jewish community. The NYPD is taking all steps to ensure the safety and security of Jewish individuals and institutions as Passover is being ushered in."

According to the Kansas City Star, Miller has a "long history of anti-Semitism... Two of the victims who died were shot in a car at the community center... One of them was William Lewis Corporon, a Johnson County doctor. The other, Reat Griffin Underwood, was Corporon’s 14-year-old grandson, who died later at Overland Park Regional Medical Center...The third victim, who was not publicly identified Sunday night was shot and killed in the parking lot of the Village Shalom senior living facility."

Overland Park Police Chief John Douglass told reporters, "We have no indication that he knew the victims... We're investigating it as a hate crime, we're investigating it as a criminal act, we haven't ruled out anything... There was a shotgun that was involved. We are exploring the possibility that a handgun was involved in the shooting at the two persons that he missed, and we are looking at the possibility of an assault rifle."

Miller, a resident of Missouri, is a former KKK leader, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center:

Frazier Glenn Miller, 73, of Aurora, Mo., was arrested today for the murder of three people at two separate Jewish Community Centers in Overland Park, Kan. Miller, who was arrested using the alias Frazier Glenn Cross, has been in the movement nearly his entire life. Miller is the former “grand dragon” of the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, which he founded and ran in the 1980s before being sued by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for operating an illegal paramilitary organization and using intimidation tactics against African Americans.

After subsequently forming another Klan group, the White Patriot Party, he was found in criminal contempt and sentenced to six months in prison for violating the court settlement. He went underground while his conviction was under appeal but was caught by the FBI with a weapons cache in Missouri. He served three years in federal prison after being indicted on weapons charges and for plotting robberies and the assassination of SPLC founder Morris Dees. As part of a plea bargain, Miller testified against other Klan leaders in a 1988 sedition trial.

Miller is a raging anti-Semite who has posted more than 12,000 times on Vanguard News Network (VNN), whose slogan is “No Jews, Just Right.” VNN founder Alex Linder has openly advocated “exterminating” Jews since December 2009. Miller, a close partner to Linder, has called Jews “swarthy, hairy, bow-legged, beady-eyed, parasitic midgets.” Miller is also one of VNN’s largest donors and he printed and distributed thousands of copies of VNN’s newsletter, The Aryan Alternative.

The Anti-Defamation League called the shootings “an unspeakable and heinous act of violence” but asked the public not to draw any conclusions yet, "While authorities have not yet determined whether the incidents were a hate crime, ADL remains in close contact with local, federal, and state law enforcement officials as the investigation continues."

The ADL added that it "sent out a security bulletin to Jewish community institutions across the country warning of the increased potential for violent attacks against community centers in the coming weeks, which coincide both with the Passover holiday and Hitler’s birthday on April 20, a day around which in the United States has historically been marked by extremist acts of violence and terrorism, including the violence at the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas and the Oklahoma City Bombing."

Karen Aroesty, ADL St. Louis Regional Director, said, "ADL is not aware of any additional threat to Jewish institutions at this time. Nevertheless, it is appropriate for Jewish institutions to make sure that all of their security measures are in place and in good working order."