Accused racist `hunted targets'

BUFORD FURROW, the white supremacist charged with last Tuesday's gun attack on a Jewish day care centre, checked several prominent Los Angeles locations with Jewish connections, including the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the University of Judaism, but thought their security was too tight.

Police who have questioned him since his arrest in Las Vegas on Wednesday say Furrow told them he stumbled upon the North Valley Jewish Community Center by chance when he was looking for petrol. He said he had no intention of targeting children, but once he opened fire "the kids got in the way".

Three boys, a teenage girl and an elderly woman were wounded. Furrow has also been charged with the shooting murder of a postal worker an hour later. The burly mechanic from Washington state, a known associate of neo-Nazi organisations, spent weeks planning the attack he described as "a wake-up call to America to kill Jews".

Furrow surrendered believing he had killed some of the children. He spent the night at a casino in Las Vegas, watching his mugshot on every TV channel, and police say he decided: "I made my point."

The taxi driver who took him across the Mojave desert, Hovik Garibyan, says he feels lucky to be alive. He was paid $800 in cash for the fare, but squandered almost all of it gambling before making the long drive home.