It was the day before Passover — April 13, 2014 — a day many people in Kansas City, Jewish and not Jewish, will always remember.
Three people — Reat Griffin Underwood, William Corporon and Terri LaManno — were murdered that afternoon. Reat and his grandfather were killed in the parking lot outside the Jewish Community Campus on their way to attend the Jewish Community Center’s KC SuperStar auditions. LaManno was outside of Village Shalom where her mother lived. Frazier Glenn Cross Jr., also known as Frazier Glenn Miller, who is accused of the murders and is being held pending trial by the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department, has said publicly he intended to kill Jewish people. Ironically, the victims were not Jewish.
Monday, April 13, marks the first anniversary of this tragic day. While a lot has happened during that time, the memory of that day is still very vivid. {mprestriction ids="1,3"}As Marvin Szneler, executive director of the Jewish Community Relations Bureau|American Jewish Committee explained, the event impacted the community in many ways and “there is absolutely no way to measure the sorrow that came with this tragedy.”
“Knowing a murderer showed up wanting to kill me and other Jews, and in our place, and knowing that three wonderful Christians were slaughtered, compounded the difficulty to deal with it,” he said.
A series of events commemorating the tragedy and emphasizing love and hope over hate, SevenDays — Make A Ripple, Change the World began Tuesday and will culminate with a Peace Walk from the Jewish Community Campus to the Church of the Resurrection on Monday night, April 13, followed by a program at the Leawood church.
The community copes
Jim Sluyter, interim president and CEO of the Jewish Community Center, notes that memories from the day can be hard.
“I don’t think the emotional scaring will ever go away for some individuals,” he said.
Matt Lewis, president and CEO of Village Shalom, said the residents are coping very well, just as they have since the day of the event.
“I attribute this to the caring, protective nature of our staff, who did whatever it took to shield our residents from the negative effects of the tragic incident and its aftermath,” he said.
In the wake of the tragedy, Jewish Family Services was able to help a number of individuals affected by the shooting last April.
“In recent months, no one has requested services directly related to this tragedy. This demonstrates the resilience of our community as most people are able to cope with even very difficult events, as long as they have the opportunity to process and grieve appropriately,” said its Executive Director and CEO Don Goldman.
Many were worried how students at the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, which is located at the Campus, would react when they returned to the building following their Passover vacation.
“Some of them were in the building during the incident and were very shaken, while others had not been back to the Campus since we began Passover break,” said the school’s psychologist Ayala Rockoff.
The school administration, along with help from JFS and Project CHAI, the trauma and bereavement arm of the international organization Chai Lifeline, provided programming and counseling to ease the students’ transition back to school.
“Generally speaking our students are doing well and have been very resilient. They participated in projects to commemorate the victims and we are proud of the way they have responded. Some of our students still had difficulty from time-to-time after the visit from Project CHAI but our teachers, administrators and support staff have worked hard to connect with and support these students as best we can,” Rockoff continued.
Security improvements
Following the shooting, Todd Stettner, president and chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, immediately sought experts to assess security. By Thursday, the day of the community memorial service, representatives from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Jewish Federations of North America’s security arm, the Secure Community Network (SCAN) were in Overland Park surveying the security situations at the Campus and Village Shalom.
“We all recognize that there is a new normal since last April 13th, and it will be a permanent change in how we operate going forward,” Village Shalom’s Lewis explained. “We need to identify risks, prioritize and implement changes that will be phased in over a period of years. We want to make good decisions that enhance our security, but also make the best use of our resources — and we have limited resources. Security really has to come to the forefront — it is no longer a collateral position or a sub-set of our Safety Committee. It now stands on its own.”
He pointed out that Village Shalom, as well as other Jewish entities in the area, has adopted the phrase, “If you see something, say something.”
“We’ve empowered staff to err on the side of over-reporting anything that is questionable or suspicious in nature. We’re not taking anything for granted anymore,” Lewis continued.
SCAN recommended a community security director be hired, and the position was filled by Sept. 15.
“That in and of itself has been a really good thing for us in terms of the implementation of the DHS report (phase I is complete) as well as other issues in the community. Our Director of Community Security Blair Hawkins has worked extensively, not just with the Campus but also with our congregations and other agencies that are not on the Campus in terms of their safety and security needs,” Stettner said.
Some of the security changes are readily noticeable, such as more uniformed police officers at activities and locked entrances in places that were not locked before. Other changes cannot be seen and have not been publicized in the interest of public safety.
“We focus on making this a safe place and there’s been good changes,” noted Ken Sigman, The J’s chairman of the board. “We are a much more secure environment now.”
Security Director Hawkins said the phase I upgrades were very extensive. Some initiatives that are part of phase II are still being completed.
“Phase II was a list of security features and policies that were identified after I arrived here and after I did some additional assessments,” said Hawkins, noting eventually there will be a phase III.
“Security is a continuing project and is one of the No. 1 priorities here. This won’t go away. In other words a year from now we will continue to identify things that we can improve on, so it’s not a one-time thing,” Hawkins said.
The J’s Sluyter said having Hawkins in the building has been very helpful.
“The insight and knowledge he brings and the guidance he can give to the organization is very, very helpful,” Sluyter said.
HBHA Head of School Howard Haas agreed. The school already had many security measures in place before the shooting, but made some minor modifications after Hawkins’ arrival.
“We are all thankful to have Blair in the community to provide expertise and guidance,” Haas said.
Hawkins believes he has been embraced by the community over the past several months and, even though he is not Jewish, he feels very much a part of it.
“I can say that Todd has gone to great lengths to get me acclimated and because there are so many agencies and synagogues, it takes a little while to build those relationships. I think the ones that have been created are very solid and we’re going to continue to move forward with the security. It’s ongoing and it involves more than just security features — it’s policies and programs. There’s a real community sense about it and people have really embraced it,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins pointed out not every visible security change has been welcomed with open arms. But for the most part he believes people have come to accept and understand them.
Coming together as a community
Village Shalom’s Lewis said the tragedy “has drawn us closer together as an organization and as a community.”
“There is better communication and collaboration, and a sense that we’re all in this together,” said Lewis, who is also not Jewish. “It has also brought the Jewish agencies closer together because we share a commonality. We’re closer than we’ve ever been. I think it’s that shared strength and cohesiveness that got us through the initial crisis. If we can continue to build on that, I think it will benefit our entire community for a long, long time.”
Jewish Federation’s Stettner believes the tragedy united the Jewish community and the general community around the issues of hatred and anti-Semitism.
“I’m sure we’ll see it again at the Faith Walk on the anniversary. You have to look at those kinds of things as a positive message of anti-hatred and bigotry. It’s a shame that it has to come at the cost of the lives that were lost, no question about that,” Stettner said.
JCRB|AJC’s Szneler, through the agency’s interfaith work, has cultivated many relationships throughout the community. He said the “outpouring of condolences from scores of individuals and organizations was moving and profound.”
He also noted that the pain from the tragedy resulted in a new program that is bringing Christian and Jewish women together to dialogue and build relationships.
“The program, Strangers No More, continues to be meaningful for the women involved,” Szneler said.
Szneler, Stettner and Hawkins all wanted to publicly thank the Overland Park Police Department for the way it has reached out to the community.
“I know personally they have made an effort to build relations with Muslims, Hispanics and literally every person who lives or works in Overland Park. They should be commended for their work. This lone-wolf tragedy was not easy to predict,” Szneler said.
Stettner added, “The Overland Park police has done an incredible job. I can’t say enough about the off-duty officers who have been here and have just been wonderful.”
Moving forward
While the tragic events happened at two Jewish sites last April 13, in the media it’s The J’s name that was and still is most often mentioned.
“I think we operate with a better understanding and empathy and care about people because life is so precious,” Sigman said.
Its interim executive agreed.
“Overall we don’t think the shooting has had a dramatic effect one way or the other on our membership numbers. And certainly immediately following the event the outpouring of love and support from the community, which came from all over the country and the world, was unbelievable,” Sluyter said.
Sigman said the events of that horrible day have spurred the staff and leaders of The J to work harder.
“All of this motivates you to do a better job, to appreciate your members, appreciate your staff and make it an environment that is inviting,” Sigman said.
“In the end,” he continues, “it all boils down to, as an organization The J needs to continue to show people it really cares and that its members are important.”
Sigman added that as long as The J continues to focus on its core mission of enriching our diverse community and cultivating an inclusive envornment built on Jewish values, heritage and culture, Sigman said it will continue to thrive.
“That’s why we’ve been here 100 years.”{/mprestriction}