Purinton makes first court appearance

washington — A former US Navy veteran arrested last week for shooting two Indian engineers and an American at a bar had his first court appearance through video conference.

Adam Purinton, 51, faces one charge of first-degree murder and two charges of attempted firstdegree murder in an apparent hate crime in Olathe that killed Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla and injured Alok Madasani. A third patron, 24-year-old Ian Grillot, was also wounded while trying to intervene.

Appearing in court via video conference on Monday, Purinton looked haggard and was soft-spoken. He was assigned a court-appointed attorney, and his bond remains set at $2 million. His next court date is March 9, CNN reported.

In 911 calls, released by CNNaffiliate KSHB, an Applebee’s bartender told the police that a man had admitted to shooting two “Iranian” people in Olathe and was looking for a place to hide.

Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton weighed in on the matter on Twitter on Monday, calling President Donald Trump to “step up and speak out” against “threats and hate crimes”. —