The Justice Department announced the indictment of Adam W. Purinton, 52, of Olathe, Kansas. Purinton was indicted by a federal grand jury on hate crime and firearm charges for shooting three men—including two Indian nationals—at an Olathe bar on Feb. 22, 2017.
The indictment accuses Purinton of shooting and killing Srinivas Kuchibhotla because of Kuchibhotla’s “actual and perceived race, color, religion and national origin.” The indictment also accuses Purinton of attempting to kill Alok Madasani because of his “actual and perceived race, color, religion and national origin.”
A third count in the indictment charges Purinton with violating a federal firearms statute by discharging a firearm at Kuchibhotla, Madasani, and the third man, Ian Grillot, during those crimes of violence.
The indictment alleges that Purinton committed the offenses after substantial planning and premeditation, attempted to kill more than one person in a single criminal episode, and knowingly created a grave risk of death to others on the scene.
CBS News reported: An affidavit released in March said Madasani told detectives that the gunman asked if their “status was legal” before he opened fire.
Witnesses said Purinton yelled at the two Indian men to “get out of my country” before pulling the trigger in the attack. A bartender at Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe said Purinton used racial slurs before firing.
After the shooting, Purinton, who is white, drove 70 miles east to an Applebee’s restaurant in Clinton, Missouri, where he made the shocking admission to a bartender.
“He asked if he could stay with me and my husband, and he wouldn’t tell me what he did. I kept asking him, and he said that he would tell me if I agreed to let him stay with me,” the bartender said. “Well, I finally got him to tell me and he said, like, that he shot and killed two Iranian people in Olathe.”
The statute authorizes a maximum penalty of death or life in prison; the Justice Department will determine at a later date whether, in this particular case, it will seek the death penalty.
