Indian shot dead in bar in kansas, US; attacker shouted ’get out of my country’

Mangalore Today News Network

Kansas, US: Srinivas Kuchibhotla, a 32-year-old engineer from Hyderabad was killed when a man fired at him and his friend, also an Indian from Warangal, at a bar in Kansas, US on Wednesday night. The attacker, a 51-year-old Navy veteran, allegedly yelled "get out of my country" before opening fire.

Mr Kuchibhotla died on the spot. His friend Alok Madasani, 32, also an engineer was admitted at a local hospital. He has been discharged from hospital now. Another man, 24-year-old Ian Grillot, who had stepped in to try and stop the shooter was also shot but is expected to survive.

The incident took place at 7:15 pm local time in Olathe, the fourth largest town in Kansas with a population of about 130,000. Mr Kuchibhotla and Mr Madasani were catching up over a drink after work at the neighbourhood bar, Austins Bar and Grill, when the shooter, Adam Purinton, started shouting racial comments. He reportedly also called them "Middle eastern" and then yelled "get out of my country" before firing multiple rounds.

Several witnesses to the shooting said it appeared to be a "racially motivated attack."

Purinton fled the spot and was caught in Missouri over five hours later, where he told a staffer at a local bar that he had shot two middle-eastern men. The bartender called the police who have charged Purinton with premeditated first-degree murder and premeditated attempted murder.

Srinivas Kuchibhotla’s worked at Garmin International, an American multinational that makes GPS systems, in Kansas. He joined the company in 2014. His wife, Sunayana Dumala, works in a technology company in the area.

"We’re saddened that two Garmin associates were involved in last night’s (Wednesday night) incident, and we express our condolences to the family and friends of our co-workers involved. Garmin will have grievance counsellors on-site and available for its associates today and tomorrow," Garmin said in a statement.

According to his Facebook and LinkedIn profiles, Mr Kuchibhotla graduated from the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in Hyderabad. He got his masters in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso, where he taught as a research assistant before graduating in 2007.

The Indian Embassy has sent two officials of the Indian Consulate in Houston to Kansas to help the victims’ families.

"We will provide all help and assistance to the bereaved family," she said in a tweet.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to collect money to fly Mr Kuchibhotla’s body to India. The page has crossed its $150,000 goal, raising nearly $200,000 in eight hours.