A Kentucky grand jury indicted a white man accused of fatally shooting two black people in a Kroger grocery store with five counts Wednesday.
Gregory Bush is charged with two counts of murder, one count of criminal attempted murder and two counts of wanton endangerment.
The local police chief said the Oct. 24 shootings appear to be racially motivated, but the prosecutor can't legally charge the suspect with a hate crime.
Kentucky's hate crimes statute is limited — it covers crimes such as assault, arson and rape, but not homicide. It's also up to a sentencing judge to determine if a hate crime was committed. But if such a designation is made, no additional time is added to a person's sentence.
However, the FBI and federal prosecutors are still investigating and could end up charging the suspect with a federal hate crime.
The suspect is next scheduled to appear in court Friday.
Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.
