In Kansas, the racist sack of shit who opened fire last year in a suburban Kansas City bar, killing an Indian engineer, was sentenced Friday to life in prison. 52-year-old Adam Purinton pleaded guilty to the charge of premeditated first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Srinivas Kuchibhotla.
Life in prison for murder of Indian engineer at bar; feds' hate crime case pending
Witnesses said Purinton, who is white, yelled racial slurs at Kuchibhotla and his friend, Alok Madasani, who were enjoying an after-work drink at Austin's Bar and Grill in Olathe. He was asked to leave but eventually returned and yelled "Get out of my country!" before firing at the men, killing Kuchibhotla and wounding Madasani. A third man, Ian Grillot, was wounded when he tried to intervene.
Purinton was apprehended several hours later at an Applebee's restaurant in Missouri, where a bartender called 911 after he reportedly admitted that he'd shot and killed "two Iranian people in Olathe."
Kuchibhotla and Madasani immigrated to the U.S. as students and were working as engineers at GPS-maker Garmin at the time of the shooting. According to court documents, Madasani told detectives that the Purinton asked the men if their "status was legal" before pulling the trigger of his 9mm semi-automatic handgun.
In addition to the murder charge, Purinton pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted first-degree murder for shooting Madasani and Grillot.
Under terms of a plea agreement, Purinton was sentenced to the maximum sentence on each of the three charges, and ordered to run them consecutively. Purinton was given two sentences of about 14 years for wounding the two men and wouldn't be eligible for parole for 77.5 years. He will likely die in prison.
Rot, asshole.
Purinton still faces federal hate crime charges for the shooting and is scheduled to enter a plea on May 21.
None of the victims or their family members attended Friday's sentencing, but the district attorney read a statement by Kuchibhotla's widow, Sunayana Dumala, directed to Purinton. She shared about how she met her husband, their dreams for their life together, and how hate had shattered her family's future.
"He was only enjoying a glass of beer with his friend," Dumala's statement read. "I wish you had the ability to see beyond my husband's skin color and the beautiful and kindhearted person underneath it."
"My Srinu had never hurt anyone and only had love and respect for others, but he had to lose his life because of your hate. It is because of only those values that he had instilled in me that I am able to write this. I hope in the years that you must spend in the jail you will one day realize the magnitude of your mistake and work towards your penance."
More here: Statement from Sunayana Dumala, widow of shooting victim Srinivas Kuchibhotla