BosNewsLife North America Service
WASHINGTON, USA (BosNewsLife)– The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington was closed Thursday, June 11, after an elderly man known for his anti-Semitic views stormed the building and killed a guard, officials said.
Flags were half-staff to honor the memory of Stephen Tyrone Johns, who was fatally wounded by 88-year-old James von Brunn, according to federal investigators.
Law enforcement officials said that besides murder, Von Brunn could also be charged with “hate crime” as he was already a convicted felon who legally could not posses a firearm.
Police said Von Brunn opened fire in the museum Wednesday, June 12, when the guard held the door as he entered. Other guards returned fire, seriously injuring the suspect.
WHITE SUPREMACISTS
The incident comes amid concerns about increased activities of “hard-core” white supremacists, such as Von Brunn, following the recent election of President Barack Obama, America first black leader.
Von Brunn had also a long history of anti-Semitic activities. He had served time in jail for trying to kidnap members of the U.S. Federal Reserve in 1981, officials said.
He reportedly blamed his incarceration on what he called a “Negro jury” and a Jewish judge.
Investigators said there was no sign that von Brunn had accomplices in Wednesday’s attack, however observers said he may have been encouraged by the many Web sites and groups in the United States of extremists.
