Summary: A Kansas man killed an Indian engineer after yelling “get out of my country.”
A Kansas man was charged this week for killing an Indian man and wounding two others at a crowded sports bar. Witnesses said that the murderer’s motivations appeared to be racial.
On Wednesday, Adam Purinton, 51, allegedly opened fire at Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kansas. A bartender working that night said he screamed “racial slurs” as he unloaded his gun. Purinton killed 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla, who died at the hospital; and his other two victims, Alok Madasani, 32, and Ian Grillot, 24, were taken to the hospital, where police say they are now in stable condition.
Purinton was arrested five hours after the shooting after he confessed his crime to a bartender at a Clinton, Missouri Applebees. The alleged racist has been charged with murder and attempted murder.
Austins’ regulars Kuchibhotla and Madasani were engineers for Garmin, a leading GPS device maker, and they were both of Indian descent. According to a witness, Purinton barked “get out of my country” at the men while they were watching a University of Kansas game, and Grillot came to their defense.
“From what I understand when he was throwing racial slurs at the two gentlemen (Kuchibhotla and Madasani), Ian (Grillot) stood up for them,” bartender Garret Bohnen told Fox News. “We’re all proud of him.”
Still recovering, Grillot gave an interview from the hospital, explaining why he stuck up for the two men.
“It’s not about where he (the victim) was from or his ethnicity,” Grillot said. “We’re all humans, so I just did what was right to do.”
FBI special agent Eric Jackson said at a Thursday news conference that it was too early to determine whether or not the shooting was a hate crime.
“This was a violent crime and we want the best prosecution that relates to this because there are victims of this crime and we want the community to know that. … We’re looking to make sure that the individual involved in this is held accountable for his actions.”
GoFundMe pages have been created to help pay the expenses of the victims.
- Related: White Teen Gets Life for Hate Crime
- Related: Was Murder of Chapel Hill Students a Hate Crime?
- Related: Four Black Teens Who Beat Up Disable Boy Charged with Hate Crime
Source:Â Fox News
What do you think of this case? Let us know in the comments below.