The FBI is investigating a Kansas bar shooting that left one Indian man dead and two others injured on Wednesday to determine if it was a possible hate crime, CNN reports.
Adam Purinton, 51, was charged with murder after open firing on Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani—two Garmin employees originally from India—at a bar outside of Kansas City. Ian Grillot, a bar patron, reportedly tried to intervene, but was shot and later hospitalized along with Madasani. Kuchibhotla was shot and died in the hospital.
"I was just doing what anyone should have done for another human being," Grillot told KMBC. "It's not about where he's from or his ethnicity. We're all humans. So I just felt I did what was naturally right to do."
According to the Kansas City Star, at least one witness heard Purinton yell "get out of my country," before fleeing the scene on foot and trying to hide in a nearby Applebee's. Before the Applebee's employees called the police, he reportedly told a bartender he had killed two Middle Eastern men.
At a news conference on Thursday, local law enforcement declined to comment on whether or not they believed the shooting was a hate crime. FBI special agent Eric Jackson said the bureau had joined on to try to figure out if Purinton was racially-motivated or violated the victims' civil rights.
"This was a violent crime and we want the best prosecution that relates to this because there are victims of this crime and we want the community to know that," Jackson said. "We're looking to make sure that the individual involved in this is held accountable for his actions."
According to NPR, Purinton has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted premeditated murder. He's currently being held at the Henry County Jail on $2 million bail.
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