Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

President Obama Slams ‘Terrible’ Overland Park Rampage at Easter Event

President Barack Obama on Monday deplored the shootings at Kansas City-area Jewish centers, saying at an Easter season prayer breakfast there was no place for anti-Semitism or other religious-based hatred.

The federal government will provide whatever assistance is needed to investigate the attacks that killed three people on Sunday, the president said at the White House. A suspect is being held on suspicion of premeditated first-degree murder.

“As Americans, we not only need to open our hearts to the families of the victims, we’ve got to stand united against this kind of terrible violence, which has no place in our society,” he said.

It was unfortunate that synagogues and Jewish community centers would feel they needed to step up security ahead of the Passover holiday, he added.

“That this occurred now, as Jews were preparing to celebrate Passover, as Christians were observing Palm Sunday, makes this tragedy all the more painful,” Obama said. “Nobody should have to worry about their security when gathering with their fellow believers.”

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.