Indian community mourns Kansas man
Engineer shot in an alleged hate crime is honored by Houston’s India House
In a small room at the India House Houston, the image of Srinivas Kuchibhotla beamed on a poster-sized photograph draped with white flowers.
Dozens of friends and members of the local Indian community gathered Sunday to pay their respects to the engineer, originally from Hyderabad and an alumnus of the University of Texas at El Paso, after he was killed in an apparently racially motivated shooting Feb. 22. in a Kansas bar.
“When Srinivas was taking this picture, he was trying to capture a happy moment,” his friend, Mahesh Subramanya said. “No one would have ever thought we would be using it for an occasion like this.”
Kuchibhotla and colleague Alok Madasani, engineers at GPS manufacturer Garmin, were allegedly targeted by Adam Purinton at Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe, Kan., after he apparently mistook them for being Iranian.
‘Killed in cold blood’
Witnesses said Purinton became agitated and began spewing racial slurs at the men and demanding to know where they came from. Customers complained, and Purinton was thrown out.
Not long after, the former Navy man allegedly returned with a gun and shot the two engineers, as well as 24-year-old Ian Grillot. Grillot was shot through the hand, the bullet narrowly missing a major artery in his chest, while alledgedly trying to confront Purinton when he thought the shooter had run out of ammunition.
The message in the room Sunday was one of hope, executive director Vipin Kumar said, as the community reels from the death of one of its own.
“It could have been my son; it could’ve been me; it could’ve been one of you,” said India House trustee Durga Agrawal.
U.S. Rep. Pete Olson, a board member of India House whose congressional district stretches from Katy to Webster, arrived at the vigil in a traditional kurta and held up a photo of Kochibhotla and his wife as he spoke.
“He was killed in cold blood — out of pure hate, because his skin was dark,” he said. “People realize, as some speakers said, that it didn’t happen to them, but they felt the hatred.”
Friends described Kuchibhotla as vibrant, funny and down-to-earth. Madasani, whose wife is five months pregnant, survived the shooting and has been released from the hospital.
“Today is not about reliving the tragic moments,” Subramanya said. “Today is to honor him and remember him and respect him. Pray for the loved ones he left behind and that they find peace.”
Message of hope
For now, Kumar said, the community will work toward combating ignorance and blind hatred and promoting the Hindu values of peace and love.
“We conclude this event today with a message of hope, love and peace,” Kumar said. “And with the resolve to fight hate.”
Olson and Kumar hailed Grillot as a hero — he has been invited to the India House gala and the nonprofit is matching funds raised for him as he recovers.