Shooting of Srinivas Kuchibhotla, Alok Madasani, and Ian Grillot

On February 22nd, 2017, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, Alok Madasani, and Ian Grillot were shot by Adam Purinton at Austin’s Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kansas. Kuchibhotla was fatally wounded, while Madasani and Grillot survived. Purinton initiated the altercation with questions about the immigration status of Kuchibhotla and Madasani, both Indian nationals. The shooting was in the midst of a string of racially motivated attacks on immigrants throughout the country. Then US President Donald Trump was credited with the blame for many of these events due to his inflammatory rhetoric regarding immigration into the country. In January 2017, Trump had signed in an executive order colloquially known as the "Muslim Ban". Whether Purinton believed he was killing Muslims has not been confirmed. He has since been incarcerated for life and remains in the custody of the state.

Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani were both regulars at Austin’s Bar and Grill. As workers at the nearby tech giant Garmin, they often came to Austin’s to unwind after work. Both men are Indian nationals, immigrants who arrived in the US via H1-B visas. As electrical engineers, they were considered vital and well-performing members of their team. The two men were good friends, having known each other for many years as former roommates and coworkers. Madasani was expecting a child at the time, while Kuchibhotla was looking to start a family with his wife Sunayana Dumala.

On February 22nd, 2017, Kuchibhotla and Madasani went to Austin’s after work to watch a basketball game and drink beer. The two were approached by another regular of the bar, Adam Purinton.

Purinton was a 51-year-old US Navy veteran, with documented service in the Middle East. Purinton had grown up in Johnson County, returning from the military to work in the local air traffic control tower. Later, Purinton worked for the Federal Aviation Administration. After the onset of an alcohol problem, he worked odd jobs in the area. Often seen drunk, Purinton was a known nuisance.

As he approached the two men in Austin’s Bar and Grill, Adam Purinton demanded to know where the two Indian nationals were from. After hurling slurs and violently accosting the two men, Purinton was restrained by Ian Grillot and others in the bar and subsequently told to leave. These slurs included questions about the legality of the two men residing in the US, claims that they were terrorists, and a stated desire for the men to “get out of his country”. A short period later, Purinton returned to the bar with a semiautomatic pistol in hand.

Srinivas Kuchibhotla was shot 3 times, Alok Madasani and Ian Grillot once. Grillot was shot in the process of attempting to apprehend Purinton. While both Madasani and Grillot survived, Kuchibhotla died of his wounds in the hospital. In the immediate aftermath of the event, Purinton was able to escape, driving to a motel in Clinton, Missouri, an hour and twenty minutes away from Olathe. Purinton was apprehended by the police later that night when he asked a bartender at a nearby Applebee’s to hide him on account of his having “shot and killed two Iranian people” in Olathe.

Purinton was charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted first-degree murder. After pleading guilty, he was charged with life in prison without parole, and remains incarcerated. A vigil was held in the following weeks to support the families of the wounded and deceased. Austin's reopened for business soon after the event, and remains in operation without any commemoration of the event or the victims.

After the event, a national conversation on the dangerous rhetoric of then US President Donald Trump on policies of immigration began. Much of the outrage was confined to India, prompting the Indian foreign minister to comment on the event that she would assist with the recovery of Kuchibhotla's body to his family. This conversation soon lost steam, brushed under the rug by major political forces such as President Donald Trump and White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer, who dismissed the event as an isolated hate crime with no ties to Trump's rhetoric. Kansas Governor Sam Brownback later proclaimed March 16th as Indian American Day to honor the victims. Beyond this, little has been done to remember the victims or the event.

The families of the deceased expressed misgivings regarding the safety of Indian workers in the US, and directly blamed the inflammatory rhetoric of the President for Purinton’s violent remarks and actions. Upon interview, Madasani's father expressed concern about allowing his sons to remain living in the US. Kuchibhotla's cousin said, “The attacker made racist remark and asked them to get out of the country. It was clear that he wanted to target them.” Many Indians reconsidered their outlook on seeking to immigrate to the US, a common life goal in the country. The following year, the application for H1-B visas to the US dropped for the first time in six years.

Barajas, J. (2018, August 7). Kansas man sentenced to life in prison for 2017 shooting that targeted Indian men. PBS. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/kansas-man-sentenced-to-life-in-prison-for-2017-shooting-that-targeted-indian-men

Smiley, L. (2017, June 27). A Murder Shatters the Dreams of Immigrant Tech Workers. Wired. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.wired.com/story/adam-purinton-shooting-olathe-kansas/

IANS. (2017, February 24). Kansas shooting: Slain Indian's kin blames Donald Trump policies for racial attack-world news , Firstpost. Firstpost. Retrieved October 11, 2022, from https://www.firstpost.com/world/kansas-shooting-slain-indians-kin-blames-donald-trump-policies-for-racial-attack-3301592.html