A man in his 70s opened fire Sunday outside of a Jewish community center and nearby retirement community, killing three people ahead of the Jewish festival of Passover which begins Monday, Reuters reported.
Overland Park Police Chief John Douglass said at a news conference Sunday evening that a person who had been reported to be in critical condition earlier was among three killed in the attacks, which apparently occurred minutes apart, according to Reuters.
"Today is a sad and very tragic day," Douglass said, Reuters reported. "As you might imagine we are only three hours into this investigation. There's a lot of innuendo and a lot of assertions going around. There is really very little hardcore information."
Shots were fired behind the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City in a parking lot about 1 p.m., according to Reuters. One male died at the scene, another male died at a hospital.
The gunman then fled and opened fire at nearby Village Shalom, killing a female, before later being arrested near an elementary school, Reuters reported. Two other people were shot at, but the gunfire missed them.
Officials said it was too early in the investigation to determine if the shootings were hate crimes, according to Reuters.
"We know it was a vicious act of violence, and we know obviously it was at two Jewish facilities. One might make that assumption," Douglass said, Reuters reported.
The Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City in Overland Park posted on its Facebook page Sunday afternoon that a "shooting incident" happened near its White Theater entrance, according to Reuters. "Everyone participating in JCC programming has been released to their homes," the center posted later Sunday.
There was a heavy police presence at the campus, which spans several acres in an affluent area of Johnson County, Kansas and police had also taped off the entrance to Village Shalom on Sunday afternoon, and several patrol cars and a crime scene unit van were parked in front, Reuters reported.
