Kansas City Shootings Investigated as Hate Crimes

The Justice Department, under Eric Holder's orders, will investigate whether yesterday's shootings at two Kansas City Jewish sites broke the federal hate crimes law, the AP reports. Holder today issued a statement on the shootings, which ended with three dead, allegedly at the hands of white supremacist Frazier Glenn Cross, saying he was "horrified" by the murders, which "are all the more heartbreaking as they were perpetrated on the eve of the solemn occasion of Passover."

President Obama also addressed the shootings at an Easter prayer breakfast at the White House this morning, the AP reports. "No one should ever have to fear for their safety when they go to pray," he said, noting that synagogues and temples across the nation are taking extra security precautions today. Meanwhile, hundreds gathered at an interfaith service in Kansas today to remember the victims, the Washington Post reports. Mindy Corporon, who lost both her father and her 14-year-old son, surprised the crowd by showing up to speak. "I know they’re in heaven together," she said of Dr. William Corporon and Reat Underwood. (More Frazier Glenn Cross stories.)