On the evening of February 22, 2017, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, a 32-year-old male engineer from India, was enjoying an after-work drink with his friend and colleague, Alok Madasani, at Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe, Kansas. Their quiet evening was disrupted by another patron, a man who confronted them with aggressive and hostile questions about their immigration status and where they were from.
The man, later identified as Adam Purinton, began shouting racial slurs, called them "terrorists," and yelled for them to "get out of my country." After being confronted by staff and other patrons for his behavior, Purinton was escorted from the premises.
A short time later, the sense of peace was shattered when Purinton returned to the bar. He had gone home to retrieve a semi-automatic pistol and had attempted to disguise himself. He walked onto the enclosed patio where Kuchibhotla and Madasani were sitting, opened the door, and began firing. Srinivas Kuchibhotla was struck by multiple bullets and died from his injuries. Alok Madasani was also shot but survived. A third man, Ian Grillot, a regular patron at the bar, was wounded after he heroically chased after Purinton in an attempt to subdue him.
The shooter, Adam Purinton, a 51-year-old U.S. Navy veteran, fled the scene immediately after the attack. His escape prompted a manhunt that ended several hours later and 82 miles away in Clinton, Missouri. Purinton had stopped at a different bar where he told the bartender that he needed a place to hide because he had just killed two "Middle Eastern" men, whom he also described as "Iranian." The bartender alerted the authorities, leading to Purinton's swift arrest.
Purinton was charged with one count of premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder at the state level. He also faced federal hate-crime charges. In March 2018, he pleaded guilty to the state charges and was sentenced in May of that year to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 50 years. Shortly after, he pleaded guilty to the federal hate crime charges, admitting he had targeted Kuchibhotla and Madasani because of their race, color, and national origin. This plea allowed him to avoid a potential death sentence. He was ultimately given three consecutive life sentences for the federal crimes, ensuring he would spend the rest of his life in prison for the racially motivated attack.
