It was supposed to be an evening of merrymaking after work and beer with friends in a bar and restaurant in Olathe. But, for 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla, it turned out to be his last outing because he fell to bullets fired by a man who was later apprehended from Clinton, Missouri by the police.
Two patrons at the bar suffered injuries – they are Alok Madasani (32) who is a friend of the deceased, and bar patron Ian Grillot (24). The Indians are engineers who work at Garmin, and from all appearances, it looks to be a hate crime.
The killer has been identified as Adam W.
Purinton (51) and, apart from the killing in Kansas, he is also accused of shooting two other people. Murder charges have been leveled against him, and his bond is set at $2 million.
FBI have entered the scene to investigate and determine whether this falls under the category of federal hate crime and what the motives of the killer were.
Events at the bar
From the account of witnesses present at the scene, the patrons were watching a basketball game in the family restaurant when the killer, who was at the bar, became agitated and shouted ‘get out of my country.’ However, the police have not confirmed this. When they closed in, the killer ran away and returned for the shooting. He was arrested after nearly six hours of the incident from a bar in Missouri and was extradited to Johnson County, Kansas for further action.
Police shifted the three injured men to the hospital where Srinivas Kuchibhotla succumbed to his injuries.
The aftermath of the tragedy
When such a crime takes place, the administration needs to assure the community that their welfare is uppermost in their minds. There are many foreigners who work in the US, and they must feel safe.
The Trump administration is trying to enforce an immigration ban, but they must also ensure of non-Americans who are already working in America.
The message must go out that America cares for them. That is what Dumala, the wife of the deceased, wants Washington to do. She had always worried about violence against foreigners in America and had even wanted to leave the country but, her husband had assured her that nothing bad would happen. He has now fallen to the bullets of hate. She wants the administration to take decisive action against those who commit hate crimes.
