KKK calls Michael Brown shooter 'hero,' raises money for him

FERGUSON, Mo., Aug. 15 (UPI) -- The Ku Klux Klan said it was raising money on behalf of the police officer who shot and killed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., on Saturday.

Brown, 18, was unarmed when he was killed by Ferguson Police Officer Darren Wilson. The exact sequence of events is in debate: police say Brown went for Wilson's gun, while eyewitnesses said Wilson grabbed Brown and then chased him down the street, firing.

"We are setting up a reward/fund for the police officer who shot this thug," the Missouri Klan chapter told the Southern Poverty Law Center in an email. "He is a hero! We need more white cops who are anti-Zog and willing to put Jewish controlled black thugs in their place. Most cops are cowards and do nothing while 90% of interracial crime is black (and non-white) on white."

Ferguson police Friday released Wilson's identity, and revealed Brown was named as the primary suspect in an alleged robbery at a convenience store near where Brown was shot a few minutes later. Surveillance video from the store appears to show a man of Brown's description shoving the clerk before walking out.

Parallel investigations, conducted by the St. Louis County police and the FBI, are ongoing.