US Navy veteran pleads guilty to killing Indian techie in Kansas

Engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla was gunned down last year

WASHINGTON (TIP): A US Navy veteran, on March 7, pleaded guilty to the murder of Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla in a racially motivated hate crime at a bar in Kansas City last year that raised fears of growing intolerance in America following President Donald Trump’s tough rhetoric on immigration.

Adam Purinton, 52, pleaded guilty before a Kansas court. He was charged with first-degree murder of Kuchibhotla, 32, and two counts of attempted first-degree murder in the shootings of his friend, Alok Madasani, and a bystander, who chased Purinton after he fled the Austin’s Bar and Grill in Olathe city on February 22 last year.

Purinton, yelled, “Get out of my country”, before shooting Kuchibhotla, who later died from injuries sustained in the attack. Kuchibhotla and Madasani worked as engineers at Garmin, a tech company that makes GPS devices.

Kuchibhotla’s widow Sunayana Dumala welcomed the guilty plea. “Today’s guilty verdict will not bring back my Srinu, but it will send a strong message that hate is never acceptable,” she said.

Purinton sentencing is scheduled for May 4.

Prosecutors alleged Purinton committed offences after substantial planning and premeditation, attempted to kill more than one person in a single criminal episode.

(Source:PTI)

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