A tragedy in a suburb of Kansas City took the family of a Bella Vista man over the weekend.
Will Corporon of Corporon Insurance & Financial Services reported that his father, William Lewis Corporon and his nephew, Reat Griffin Underwood, were shot and killed outside the Jewish Community Center of Greater Kansas City campus in Overland Park on Sunday afternoon.
The suspected assailant was arrested after another shooting at a Jewish Retirement Community. The suspect was not from the area and there was no indication that he knew the victims, according to an AP story published on Monday.
The killings are being investigated as a hate crime.
The elder Corporon was a well loved physician in Johnson County, his son said. He was dropping his grandson off for a musical audition.
"They were literally ambushed as they parked," said Corporon, who resides with his family in Bella Vista, adding that there were 100 teens in the vicinity.
According to a family statement, William Corporon leaves behind his wife of 49 years and a loving and devoted family. He practiced family medicine in Marlow and Duncan, Okla., from 1976 through 2003, when he and his wife moved to the Kansas City area to be closer to their grandchildren.
His grandson, a 14-year-old freshman at Blue Valley High School, participated in debate, theatre and had a beautiful voice, according to the statement. Underwood was an Eagle Scout and loved spending time camping and hunting with his grandfather, father and his brother. He and his grandfather were proud supporters of the University of Oklahoma and its sports teams.
"We would like to thank our friends, family and our church, the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, and school community for the outpouring of love and support during this very difficult time," the statement said. "We take comfort knowing they are together in Heaven.
The third victim was identified as 53-year-old occupational therapist Terri LaManno, a Catholic who was visiting her mother at the Village Shalom retirement complex near the community center.
General News on 04/16/2014