Jun 11, 2009 12:29 pm US/Eastern
Police: MD Man Killed Holocaust Museum Guard
CBS News Interactive: Guns In America
WASHINGTON (WJZ/AP) ―
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A man simply doing his job is dead, killed by another man apparently overcome with anger and hatred at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum.
Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images
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An 88-year-old white supremacist is accused of opening fire in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum, killing a guard.
CBS
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Police officers block the street leading to the main entrance of the Holocaust Museum on June 10, 2009, in Washington, D.C., after a shooting.
Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images
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Police look for evidence in museum shooting.
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This is James Von Brunn's car.
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Police Close off area.
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James Von Brunn is accused of killing museum guard.
CBS
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial and Museum was shuttered Thursday with its flags at half-staff as it mourned a guard who died stopping a rifle attack by a gunman authorities identified as an 88-year-old white supremacist.
A man simply doing his job is dead, killed by another man apparently overcome with anger and hatred.
Bouquets of roses, lillies and other flowers were lined up outside the museum walls Thursday morning. The entrance where the shooting occurred was still cordoned off by police tape.
Jessica Kartalija was on the scene of the shooting minutes after it happened. CBS News identified an elderly Maryland man as the shooter.
Eyewitness News was first on the scene at the Holocaust Museum as thousands of people were evacuated.
As thousands ran for safety, police cordoned off a crime scene.
"I heard some people yelling into the room and then we were running out," said one witness.
Shortly before 1 p.m. Wednesday, half a dozen shots were fired by a self-proclaimed white supremacist at the Holocaust Memorial Museum.
The suspect, James Whitaker von Brunn, allegedly came through the main visitor's entrance carrying a rifle. Police say before reaching the metal detectors, he immediately raised his weapon and started shooting. He shot one security guard; the other guards returned fire, wounding the gunman.
FBI officials found explosives inside von Brunn's car outside of the museum entrance.
Both the 88-year-old suspect and the security guard, 39-year-old Steven Tyrone Johns, were taken to George Washington Hospital. Johns was listed in grave condition and died a short time later.
"He was an outstanding colleague and beloved by all of us. A great friend who greeted us every day with a big smile," said Museum Director Sara Bloomfield.
Museum officials say the museum was at capacity. There were thousands of people, including young children, inside at the time of the shooting.
Kelly McPherson reports investigators are back on the scene Thursday in Annapolis. The police went inside the suspect's apartment to learn more about the man who killed the guard at the Holocaust Memorial.
Police were checking his apartment complex for explosives planted in his home.
The 88-year-old suspected gunman moved from Michigan to Maryland. Neighbors say he had shared anti-Semitic messages in the past.
"My God, I live next door to that guy," said Harold Olynnger, neighbor.
His next door neighbor said James Van Brunn moved to the Annapolis neighborhood from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He lived with his son and his son's girlfriend. Van Brunn mostly kept to him self but had displayed hints of anti-Semitism in the past.
"He came over about 3 months ago for a drink, vodka & tonic, and he made the remark that he thought the media was covering the holocaust situation too much, which I agreed with at the time," said Olynnger.
Van Brunn runs a white supremacist website. He details how he transformed from a World War II Navy Officer to someone who believes Jewish people are conspiring to ruin the white race in an essay entitled "Kill the Best Gentiles.
"Van Brunn served six years in prison for attempting to kidnap members of the Federal Reserve Board in the 80s. He still spreads the message of what he calls the "Holocaust Hoax."
People who live in this neighborhood could not believe the shooting suspect lived among them. Investigators will continue to focus their attention on the Annapolis neighborhood where van brunn lives.
"I came out to walk my dog and [I was] pretty Bhorrified," said Patricia Mernin, neighbor. "I was little shocked, worried about where I was living and why a person would do something, living in a complex where you are," said Patricia Grimaldi, neighbor.
The Holocaust Museum is closed Thursday.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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