Kansas police arrested Adam W. Purinton in Olathe and filed first-degree murder charges against him. The 51-year-old was taken into custody in Missouri the following day. The shooting occurred at Austin’s Bar and Grill, which sits 20 southwest of Kansas City. Witnesses say that Puritan yelled, "Get out of my country," before opening fire on two Indian men. Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani, both 32, were shot at the bar.
Kuchibhotla died from his wounds in the hospital, and Madasani was released from the hospital today. Investigators are unclear about why the shooting occurred, but the families of the victims believe it is due to xenophobia.
The incident
According to the Kansas Star and The Washington Post, witnesses believed that Purinton had been asked to leave the bar the day before the shooting took place. Garret Bohnen, a frequent patron at Austin's, was there the night before when Puritan was reportedly kicked out. "He was very distraught," Bohnen said in an interview with The Post. The next night, Puritan returned to the bar and began hurling racial slurs directed at Kuchibhotla and Madasani.
It is believed that Purinton did not think these men were Indian. He thought they were Middle Eastern. When he opened fire inside the establishment, Ian Grillot, 24, attempted to stop him. Grillot was also shot and injured during this attack. As of now, investigators have not labeled this as a hate Crime. Puritan's bail has been set at $2 million.
The victims
Kuchibhotla and Madasani were both Indian nationals and worked for the tech company Garmin. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has contacted the Kuchibhotla family to arrange for his remains to be sent back to them. Grillot, now being referred to as the Good Samaritan, was shot in the hand and chest. The bullet fractured a vertebrae in his neck, just barely missing his carotid artery.
With the rise of intolerance and hate across the United States since the presidential victory of Donald Trump, many immigrants are left with a feeling of dread. Trump's recent travel ban, more commonly referred to as the Muslim Ban, has caused discord all across the nation as Middle Eastern immigrants fear for their future inside the United States.