Accused Kroger shooter pleads not guilty to hate crimes

Jan. 9 (UPI) -- A man accused of killing two people in what authorities described as a racially motivated shooting at a Kentucky Kroger has pleaded not guilty to federal hate crimes.

Gregory Bush, 51, pleaded not guilty to three federal hate crime charges and three federal gun charges Monday during an arraignment at the U.S. District Court in Louisville, Ky. He previously pleaded not guilty to state murder charges.

Bush, who is white, opened fire Oct. 24 at a Jeffersontown, Ky., Kroger, killing Maurice Stallard, 69, and Vickie Lee Jones, 67, both of whom were black.

Prior to carrying out the shooting at the grocery store Bush allegedly attempted to enter the First Baptist Church of Jeffersontown, whose congregation is predominantly black, and witnesses said he told another man at the scene "whites don't kill whites" before he was arrested.

U.S. Attorney Russell Coleman did not indicate whether he would seek the death penalty for Bush.