Federal authorities have launched a hate crime probe after a white man allegedly opened fire on two Indian men inside a Kansas bar last week, fatally shooting one of them.
The FBI said in a statement Tuesday that it is working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to investigate the Kansas shooting as a hate crime “based upon the initial investigative activity.”
Adam Purinton, 51, is accused of killing Srinivas Kuchibhotla, a 32-year-old engineer from India, and wounding two other men last Wednesday in what witnesses say may have been a racially motivated attack.
While Purinton’s motive is under investigation, witnesses said he yelled “get out of my county” at the men before firing multiple rounds at them, according to the Associated Press.
Purinton has been charged with murder and attempted murder. He faces up to 50 years in prison without parole if convicted of the charges in district court, the Johnson County Kansas District Attorney’s office said.
The local prosecutors said Kansas does not have a hate-crime statute so any charges of civil rights violations would have to come from federal authorities.
- Effective Altruism Promises to Do Good Better. These Women Say It Has a Toxic Culture of Sexual Harassment and Abuse
- Inside Bolsonaro's Surreal New Life as a Florida Man—and MAGA Darling
- From Jan. 6 to Tyre Nichols, American Life Is Still Defined by Caste
- As People Return to Offices, It’s Back to Miserable for America’s Working Moms
- The Real Reason Florida Wants to Ban AP African-American Studies, According to an Architect of the Course
- Column: Tyre Nichols' Killing Is The Result of a Diseased Culture
- Without Evusheld, Immunocompromised People Are on Their Own Against COVID-19
- Column: America Goes About Juvenile Crime Sentencing All Wrong
- Why Your Tax Refund May Be Lower This Year
