The U.S. government will charge the man who killed two people in a Jeffersontown Kroger last month with federal hate crimes. A federal grand jury in Louisville returned three hate crime indictments against 51-year-old Gregory Bush on Thursday afternoon.
U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman announced that Bush will be charged with six counts. Two of those counts are shooting and killing two victims based upon race, while one is attempting to shoot based on race. The other three are federal gun charges.Bush allegedly entered the Jeffersontown Kroger on October 24, after attempting to enter a nearby predominantly-black church. He killed 69-year-old Maurice Stallard inside the store, and then 67-year-old Vickie Jones outside. Both victims were black; Bush is white.
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Bush faces a max of life in prison without parole, with the possibility of the death penalty. Coleman said a decision whether to seek the death penalty hasn’t been made at this point.
“There has been a specter that reared its head and has laid across this community since October 24, and as a man who’s privileged to swear to do justice with his colleagues on my left and my right, as someone who’s raising his family here, this is not acceptable,” Coleman said. “No Kentuckian should be frightened to go shopping. No Kentuckian should be frightened to worship. No Kentuckian should be frightened to go to school. And we will stand with you and we will stand together to push back on the specter of fear and violence in this community. It’s unacceptable and we stand with you.”
