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FBI investigating Kansas shooting of Indian men as hate crime

By Andrew V. Pestano
Adam Purinton, 51, is accused of carrying out a shooting in which one man was killed and two others were injured. The FBI is investigating the shooting as a hate crime, as witnesses said Purinton used racial slurs against two Indian men before shooting them and a man who attempted to intervene in the incident. File Photo by Henry County Sheriff's Office/EPA
Adam Purinton, 51, is accused of carrying out a shooting in which one man was killed and two others were injured. The FBI is investigating the shooting as a hate crime, as witnesses said Purinton used racial slurs against two Indian men before shooting them and a man who attempted to intervene in the incident. File Photo by Henry County Sheriff's Office/EPA

March 1 (UPI) -- The FBI said it will open a hate crime investigation into the fatal shooting of an Indian man in Kansas by a man who allegedly used racial slurs.

Police arrested Adam Purinton early Thursday after his involvement in the shooting at Austin's Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kan., on Feb. 22. Purinton is accused of shooting at three men -- two of whom were Indian. One of the men, 32-year-old Srinivas Kuchibhotla, died from his injuries.

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Purinton shot Kuchibhotla's friend, Alok Madasani, also from India, and Ian Grillot, a bystander who attempted to intervene in the incident.

Witnesses said Purinton told the men to "get out of my country" before opening fire.

"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," the FBI said in a statement on Tuesday. "The FBI will continue to work jointly with Olathe Police Department and our state and local partners regarding this ongoing investigation."

Purinton, identified as a U.S. Navy veteran and a former FAA air traffic controller, has been charged with one count of premeditated murder and two counts of attempted premeditated murder.

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Stephen Feller contributed to this report.

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