Three victims identified in south KC shootings

Police have identified three homicide victims from the rampage Tuesday in a cul-de-sac in south Kansas City.

They were Susan Choucroun, 69; Lorene Hurst, 88, and her son, Darrel Hurst, 63. Two other persons were critically injured.

A neighbor, Vicki Gruver, 74, who has lived in the Woodbridge development for 14 years, said she was only gone for about 30 minutes Tuesday when she returned in the aftermath of the mayhem.

She said one couple, both in their 80s, had been badly beaten and taken to hospitals. She said she thought they had lived in their home about five years, while the other victims had lived longer in the neighborhood at Wornall Road and Woodbridge Lane.

Gruver said the gunman apparently tried to steal the couple’s Jaguar before fleeing in their Toyota Highlander, which was later found in the Northland.

Susan Choucroun, Gruver said, was shot while in her front yard. The Hursts were also outside when they were gunned down.

Lorene Hurst “was just a lovely lady and her son had just stopped by to check on his mom,” Gruver said. “She was just very sweet, and kind, and would have given anything that anyone would have asked her for.”

Lorene Hurst liked to travel and would walk every morning at Ward Parkway Shopping Center, said her daughter-in-law Kathy Hurst.

The Hurst family released a written statement:

“We are devastated by the loss of Lorene Hurst and her son, Darrel Hurst. Darrel was over visiting his mother, Lorene yesterday when they were both killed. He frequently stopped by her home, so this wasn’t an unusual event.

“While we are unsure of all of the events that transpired that day, but we are comforted knowing that they were together. Our prayers go out to the other families and victims in the neighborhood as they are struggling to deal with their grief as well. Our hearts are broken and we ask for our privacy during this difficult time.”

The family declined further comment.

Those who knew Susan Choucroun confirmed Wednesday the death of a woman known as a kind soul, devoted to peace and community betterment. She and her husband, Charles Choucroun, were active in Congregation Ohev Sholom in Prairie Village.

Charles Choucroun owns Leawood Beauty Salon at 2515 Somerset Drive in Prairie Village. A voice message there said the business was closed until Sept. 10 because of his wife’s death.

“Susan and I were good friends. We had monthly lunch dates for years,” said Ohev Sholom Rabbi Scott White. “I personally am devastated by her loss and will miss her deeply.”

At Community Christian Church, the Rev. Bob Hill and Susan Choucroun worked together for years with the social justice group More².

“She was passionate. She was curious. She had had an interfaith sensibility that was undying,” Hill said. “She was a life-long lover of Kansas City and all its people.”

The Choucrouns also were active in the Kehilath Israel Synagogue in Overland Park.

She was among the directors and advisers to the Greater Kansas City Inferfaith Council, the council said in a statement.

Choucroun, the council said, “has been a social and political activist throughout her life, working in the racial and civil rights arena.”

She had a master’s degree in gifted education with a specialization in Montessori, the council said, and was a teacher for 40 years. She also taught inter-denominational Sunday school in several area churches.

The Louis Memorial Chapel is handling her funeral arrangements, but no details were yet available.

This story was originally published September 3, 2014 at 12:56 PM with the headline "Three victims identified in south KC shootings."