Kansas Shooting Of 2 Indian Men Will Be Investigated As Hate Crime

OLATHE, KS — Federal authorities are investigating the shooting in Olathe, Kansas, that left one Indian man dead and injured another as a hate crime, the FBI's Kansas City division said in a statement Tuesday.

"The FBI continues to work jointly with the Olathe Police Department investigating the triple shooting and homicide that occurred on February 22, 2017, at Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe, KS. Based upon the initial investigative activity, the FBI, in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, is investigating this incident as a hate crime," the FBI said in the statement. "The FBI will continue to work jointly with Olathe Police Department and our state and local partners regarding this ongoing investigation. As this is an ongoing investigation, we are not able to comment further at this time."

Police say a gunman allegedly shot three men at a Kansas bar last week, killing one and injuring the two others. One of the men injured in the shooting apparently tried to intervene. A witness, quoted by the Kansas City Star, heard the man yell, "get out of my country" before he shot two Indian men. Olathe police identified the slain man as 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibothla. The victims injured in the shooting were identified as Alok R. Madasani, 32, and Ian P. Grillot, 24.

The accused gunman, 51-year-old Adam Purinton, was taken into custody by police in Clinton, Missouri, after fleeing on foot from the scene of the shooting. He was charged with one count of premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of attempted premeditated first-degree murder.

Grillot, the man who tried to intervene and subdue the shooter, described what happened from his hospital bed. He brushed off any talk that he was a hero and said that he was just doing what anyone should have done for another human being.

Kuchibothla and Grillot were colleagues who worked at Garmin. Both were immigrants from India living in the country legally. The duo apparently often frequented the bar where the shooting took place.

In a phone interview with the New York Times, Madasani said Purinton asked the two men what visa they were on and whether they were in the country illegally. Purinton was initially escorted out of the bar after the remarks.

On Monday, White House press secretary Sean Spicer said the reports out of Kansas were "equally disturbing." Spicer made the remarks after saying the president condemns any anti-Semitic and hateful acts in the country, referencing the vandalism of a Jewish cemetery in Philadelphia over the weekend and bomb threats made to several Jewish centers on Monday. On Tuesday, the White House condemned the Kansas shooting, calling it an "act of racially motivated hatred."

“The president condemns these and any racially and religiously motivated attacks,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders told reporters.

Since the shooting, three GoFundMe campaigns were initiated to help the victims. As of Monday, donations exceeded $1.14 million.

Ali Kucukgocmen contributed to this report

Image: A small memorial for Srinivas Kuchibhotla is displayed outside Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kan. Photo Credit: Orlin Wagner/Associated Press

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