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| F.B.I. Investigating Kansas Shooting of Indian Men as Hate Crime | F.B.I. Investigating Kansas Shooting of Indian Men as Hate Crime |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The F.B.I. said on Thursday that it was investigating the shooting of two Indian immigrants by a white man who leveled ethnic slurs at them and questioned their immigration status before he opened fire at a Kansas bar as a hate crime. | The F.B.I. said on Thursday that it was investigating the shooting of two Indian immigrants by a white man who leveled ethnic slurs at them and questioned their immigration status before he opened fire at a Kansas bar as a hate crime. |
| The suspect, Adam W. Purinton, was thrown out of Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kan., last Wednesday after verbally harassing the two Indian men, Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani, and suggesting they did not belong in the United States, the authorities said. | The suspect, Adam W. Purinton, was thrown out of Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kan., last Wednesday after verbally harassing the two Indian men, Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani, and suggesting they did not belong in the United States, the authorities said. |
| He returned to the bar with a gun a short time later and shot both men as they sat on its outdoor patio, killing Mr. Kuchibhotla and injuring Mr. Madasani, the authorities said. Ian Grillot, another bar patron, was also shot and injured as he tried to stop Mr. Purinton from fleeing the scene. | He returned to the bar with a gun a short time later and shot both men as they sat on its outdoor patio, killing Mr. Kuchibhotla and injuring Mr. Madasani, the authorities said. Ian Grillot, another bar patron, was also shot and injured as he tried to stop Mr. Purinton from fleeing the scene. |
| Mr. Purinton was charged last week with premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of attempted premeditated first-degree murder. The Kansas City division of the F.B.I. said on Tuesday that federal authorities were also investigating the shootings as a hate crime. The move was not unexpected given the nature of the shooting. | Mr. Purinton was charged last week with premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of attempted premeditated first-degree murder. The Kansas City division of the F.B.I. said on Tuesday that federal authorities were also investigating the shootings as a hate crime. The move was not unexpected given the nature of the shooting. |
| “Based upon the initial investigative activity, the F.B.I., in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, is investigating this incident as a hate crime,” the agency said in a statement. “The F.B.I. will continue to work jointly with Olathe Police Department and our state and local partners regarding this ongoing investigation.” | “Based upon the initial investigative activity, the F.B.I., in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, is investigating this incident as a hate crime,” the agency said in a statement. “The F.B.I. will continue to work jointly with Olathe Police Department and our state and local partners regarding this ongoing investigation.” |
| The shootings have heightened anxieties about a surge of white nationalism and a climate of hostility toward immigrants and racial minorities in the United States. Sunayana Dumala, the widow of Mr. Kuchibhotla, addressed those fears directly during an emotional news conference last Friday. | The shootings have heightened anxieties about a surge of white nationalism and a climate of hostility toward immigrants and racial minorities in the United States. Sunayana Dumala, the widow of Mr. Kuchibhotla, addressed those fears directly during an emotional news conference last Friday. |
| “I have a question in my mind: Do we belong?” She said, according to The Kansas City Star. “I need an answer from the government. What are they going to do to stop this hate crime?” | “I have a question in my mind: Do we belong?” She said, according to The Kansas City Star. “I need an answer from the government. What are they going to do to stop this hate crime?” |
| In an interview with The New York Times last week, one of the victims, Mr. Madasani, said Mr. Purinton had asked them directly about their immigration status shortly before he opened fire. | In an interview with The New York Times last week, one of the victims, Mr. Madasani, said Mr. Purinton had asked them directly about their immigration status shortly before he opened fire. |
| “He asked us what visa are we currently on and whether we are staying here illegally,” Mr. Madasani told The Times. Both he and Mr. Kuchibhotla were educated in the United States and were working and living in the country legally. | “He asked us what visa are we currently on and whether we are staying here illegally,” Mr. Madasani told The Times. Both he and Mr. Kuchibhotla were educated in the United States and were working and living in the country legally. |
| “We didn’t react,” Mr. Madasani said. “People do stupid things all the time. This guy took it to the next level.” | “We didn’t react,” Mr. Madasani said. “People do stupid things all the time. This guy took it to the next level.” |
| President Trump has made an immigration crackdown one of the centerpieces of his young administration, including a ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries that is currently the subject of litigation. | President Trump has made an immigration crackdown one of the centerpieces of his young administration, including a ban on travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries that is currently the subject of litigation. |
| On Tuesday night, Mr. Trump, speaking before a joint session of Congress, decried the Kansas shootings and the recent desecration of two Jewish cemeteries, saying that the country “stands united in condemning hate and evil.” | |
| The president had earlier been criticized for not directly addressing the shooting. Last week, the White House press secretary, Sean Spicer, called the episode “tragic” but rejected any link between Mr. Trump’s policy agenda and anti-immigrant violence as “absurd.” | |
| On Tuesday, the White House issued a statement condemning the shooting as “an act of racially motivated hatred.” | On Tuesday, the White House issued a statement condemning the shooting as “an act of racially motivated hatred.” |
| “I want to reiterate the president condemns these or any other racially or religiously motivated attacks in the strongest terms,” Sarah Sanders, a White House spokeswoman, told CNN. “They have no place in our country.” | “I want to reiterate the president condemns these or any other racially or religiously motivated attacks in the strongest terms,” Sarah Sanders, a White House spokeswoman, told CNN. “They have no place in our country.” |