Slaying of Indian man could be a hate crime
A man who opened fire in a Kansas bar reportedly shouted “Get out of my country” before shooting two Indian engineers.
Kansas OLATHE, KAN. — reeled Friday as a shooting at a bar, which left one Indian engineer dead and another injured, escalated into an international incident amid fears that the attack was moti- vated by bias and hate.
Authorities in the United States, including FBI agents, are investigating the shoot- ing as a possible hate crime, and India’s government expressed shock over the episode in suburban Kansas City.
In New Delhi, there was new alarm about the treatment of foreigners in the U.S., where President Don- ald Trump has made clamp- ing down on immigration and refugees from predom- inantly Muslim countries a central part of his “America First” agenda.
The attack occurred around 7:15 p.m. Wednesday at Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe, southwest of Kansas City.
At least one witness said the gunman, identified by authorities as Adam Purinton, 51, yelled “get out of my country” before open- ing fire, The Kansas City Star reported, and a bartender at a Clinton, Mo., restaurant where Purinton was later captured said he had heard him say that he had killed two Middle Eastern men.
A 24-year-old American, Ian Grillot, who tried to intervene after he reportedly heard the gunman utter racist slurs, was shot and hospitalized.
Citing judicial ethics and the continuing inquiry, U.S. investigators have offered no specifics about the allega- tions against Purinton, who was charged Thursday with one count of premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of attempted premeditated first-degree murder. The federal government could ultimately try to bring civil rights charges against Purinton.
“Our role in this investigation is to work jointly with local law enforcement to determine if an individual’s civil rights were violated,” said Eric Jackson, special agent in charge of the FBI’s field office in Kansas City, Mo.
Stephen Howe, district attorney in Johnson County, Kan., said Purinton’s bail had been set at $2 million.
In Johnson County, at least, Purinton has had few runins with law enforcement. Court records show a thin history: a speeding ticket in 2008 and a 1999 drunken-driving charge that was dismissed.
The dead man, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, worked for Garmin, a GPS navigation and communications device company. The wounded Indian man, Alok Madasani, also worked for Garmin, according to the Indian government. The men were in their early 30s.
Madasani’s father, Jaganmohan Reddy, said he had spoken with his wounded son over the phone.
“Irequest other parents to think twice before sending their children to the United States,” he said.