WASHINGTON:
Adam Purinton
, the man accused of killing Indian techie
Srinivas Kuchibhotla and injuring two others at a suburban Kansas City bar, has been indicted on federal hate crime and firearms charges.
The Friday's indictment by a federal grand jury against Purinton, 51, of Olathe, Kansas, comes after a
February 22 shooting at a city bar.
The indictment announced by the Department of Justice has accused Purinton of shooting and killing Kuchibhotla, and attempting to kill
Alok Madasani
, also an Indian national, because of their actual and perceived race, colour, religion and national origin.
AP image of Adam PurintonWitnesses said Purinton yelled at the two Indian men to
"get out of my country" before pulling the trigger in the attack.
Ian Grillot
, a 24-year-old American man
was also injured while intervening in the shooting.
The announcement in this regard was made by the Acting Assistant Attorney General Thomas E Wheeler, II, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, and United States Attorney Thomas E Beall of the District of Kansas.
Purinton faces a maximum penalty of death or life in prison. The Justice Department will determine at a later date whether, in this particular case, it will seek the death penalty, a media release said.
A third count in the indictment charges Purinton with violating a federal firearms statute by discharging a firearm at Kuchibhotla, Madasani, and Grillot, during the violence.
It alleges that Purinton committed the offences after substantial planning and premeditation, attempted to kill more than one person in a single criminal episode, and knowingly created a grave risk of death to others on the scene.
Purinton, a US Navy veteran, is currently being held in the Johnson County jail on a $2 million cash bond on murder and attempted murder charges.
Sushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyde...
Read MoreSushil Rao is Editor-Special Reports, at The Times of India, Hyderabad. He began his journalism career at the age of 20 in 1988. He is a gold medalist in journalism from the Department of Communication and Journalism, Arts College, Osmania University, Hyderabad from where he did his post-graduation from. He has been with The Times of India’s Hyderabad edition since its launch in 2000. He has also done an introductory course in film studies from the Film and Television Institute of India, Pune, and also from the Central University of Kerala equipping himself with the knowledge of filmmaking for film criticism. He has authored four books. In his career spanning 34 years, he has worked for five newspapers and has also done television reporting. He was also a web journalist during internet’s infancy in the mid 1990s in India. He covers defence, politics, diaspora, innovation, administration, the film industry, Hyderabad city and Telangana state, and human interest stories. He is also a podcaster, blogger, does video reporting and makes documentaries.
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