The FBI is investigating whether a recent shooting at a sports bar in Kansas on Wednesday was a hate crime, as reported by Al Jazeera. Three men, including two Indian men, were shot by a fellow patron who eyewitnesses reported said “get out of my country” and was directing ethnic slurs at the two men before the shooting. One of the victims, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, was killed while the other two men Alok Madasani and Ian Grillot were only wounded.
Reports from the scene indicated Kuchibhotla and Madasani were regular patrons at the bar in Olathe, Kansas and were not causing any type of scene. The gunman, Adam Purinton, reportedly began harassing the two and was then kicked out by management for his behavior. He soon returned and shot the two men, along with Grillot, who was trying to subdue the gunman.
Purinton fled the scene, but was soon apprehended and has been charged with premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of attempted premeditated first-degree murder, as indicated by the New York Times. Kuchibhotla’s wife Sunayana Dumala said she was devastated by her husband’s death and in the back of her mind always wondered if a shooting like this could happen:
“We always wondered how safe it was to stay in the United States of America, but he always assured me that only good things happen to good people. He did not deserve a death like this.”
Authorities are now looking investigating whether the shooting was a hate crime. ABC News noted a bartender had reportedly heard Puritan use racial slurs towards the two men.
(Via Al Jazeera, ABC News & New York Times)