London: With reports emerging of the gunman harassing the two Indian engineers before opening fire at a Kansas bar killing one man, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is probing whether the shooting could be a possible hate crime.
Adam W Purinton was charged with murder for shooting Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, and his friend Alok Madasani, 32, at the Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe, Kansas.
Kuchibhotla died in the hospital from his injuries, and Madasani has been released from the hospital.
At least one witness told the Kansas City Star that the gunman yelled “go back to your country” before opening fire.
Police apprehended Purinton at an Applebee’s about 80 miles away in Clinton, Missouri, after being tipped off by a bartender at the restaurant, who said Purinton told them he had been involved in the shooting.
The entire development, which has raised a massive outage in India, has questioned the White House’s rhetoric around immigration, which has promoted Donald Trump’s “America First” position on allowing people into the country.
However, White House press secretary, Sean Spicer categorically stated that it would be absurd to link the shooting to Trump’s rhetoric and that it was too early to determine the motive. (ANI)