Kansas shooting raises fears with local Indian-Americans
(Reuters) - The shooting death of an Indian engineer and the wounding of another man in a possible hate crime at a Kansas bar has raised fears among members of the area’s fast-growing IndianAmerican community.
The suspected gunman, U.S. Navy veteran Adam Purinton, 51, has been charged with the premeditated murder in Olathe, just outside Kansas City, of Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, and the attempted murder of Alok Madasani, also 32, as well as an American who tried to intervene. Before opening fire, Purinton is accused of shouting “get out of my country,” a bystander told the Kansas City Star.
Several members of the Kansas City area’s IndianAmerican community said the attack had forced them to think about their safety.
“The main reaction is shock, because this is home,” said Samarpita Bajpai, 45, who lives in suburban Overland Park and runs a non-profit Indian dance company.
Going forward, Bajpai said that for the first time in her nearly 20 years living in the Kansas City area she will try to refrain from being out late at night.
She said the local area had always been very welcoming. Through her Gurukul Dance Company, Bajpai tours U.S. cities with a troupe of 10 dancers, all of
whom except her are white people with an affinity for Indian culture, she said.
The shooting comes as some members of U.S. minority groups have expressed unease with the political and social climate in the United States. The Southern Poverty Law Center said in a report this month hate groups proliferated in 2016 as Donald Trump’s bid for the U.S. presidency energized the radical right.
A number of Jewish leaders called on Trump to speak out against anti-Semitism following a spate of bomb threats to Jewish community centers. Trump this week called the threats horrible and he has said he rejects violence and harassment.