Authorities are now investigating a deadly shooting in Kansas that killed one Indian man and wounded another as a hate crime, the FBI said Tuesday.
The shooting last week sparked unease in Kansas and across the globe, after witnesses said that the accused gunman had told the two men to “get out of my country” before opening fire. One of the Indian men shot during the attack — Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32 — died in the hospital from his wounds, police said. Alok Madasani, 32, of Overland Park, Kan., who was injured, was released from the hospital on Thursday, a day after the attack.
Police arrested and charged Adam W. Purinton, 51, with the shooting in Olathe, Kan. Purinton, who made his first court appearance on Monday, apparently thought the two men he shot were Iranian, according to a 911 call released after he was taken into custody.
Following the shooting at Austin’s Bar and Grill, authorities did not immediately say whether it was a hate crime, and said they were probing to see if it was spurred by bias. Officials cautioned in the days after the shooting that it was still early in their investigation.
On Tuesday afternoon, nearly a week after Kuchibhotla was shot and killed, the FBI announced that the investigation had prompted officials to investigate the incident as a hate crime.
“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,” an FBI spokeswoman said in a statement. “The FBI will continue to work jointly with Olathe Police Department and our state and local partners regarding this ongoing investigation.”
A third man injured in the attack, Ian Grillot, said he tried to intervene during the shooting and was shot himself.
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