The widow of Srinivas Kuchibhotla, an Indian American electrical engineer who was shot at a bar in a Kansas City satellite town on Wednesday, says she no longer feels certain about her sense of belonging, safety or future in the US.
Sunayana Dumala said she that while she still believed in Kuchibhotla’s saying that “good things happen in America,” she wants to hear how the government will combat such “hate crimes” before she returns from her husband’s funeral in Hyderabad.
The shooting happened around 7.15 pm at the crowded Austins Bar and Grill in Olathwhere patrons were watching a basketball game on TV and enjoying a few drinks after work. Adam W Purinton, 51, who was earlier kicked out of the bar for making racist comments at Kuchibhotla and his colleague Alok Madasani returned with a gun and shot them yelling, “Get out of my country.”
Kuchbhotla was killed, while Madasani was hit in the thigh but has since been released from hospital. Customer Ian Grillot was shot in the hand and chest when he tried to stop the gunman.
The two men were regulars at the bar, where staff dubbed them the “Jameson guys” because they met there twice a week and had a partiality to the Irish whiskey, the BBC reported. They were also both 32, both from the Indian tech hub of Hyderabad and both had moved to the US to study Master’s degrees in electrical engineering. They also both preciously worked for Rockwell Collins before moving to Kansas to work for Garmin International, a maker of GPS-based tracking devices and wearables.
In Hyderabad, Kuchibhotla’s brother-in-law, Venumadhav Gajula blamed the killing on racial intolerance in the US, which he said had worsened since Donald Trump’s election.
Many Indians initially welcomed Trump’s election, seeing his calls to restrict Muslim immigration as support for their Hindu-majority country against arch rival Pakistan. But the Trump administration may also have skilled Indian workers like Kuchibhotla in mind as it considers curbing the H-1B visa program, worrying both India’s US$150 billion IT services industry and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
“Don’t be shocked! Be angry!” Siddharth, a well-known South Indian actor who uses one name, tweeted to his 2.6 million followers in remarks echoed across social media. “Trump is spreading hate. This is a hate crime! RIP #SrinivasKuchibhotla.”
The shooting has shaken the 25,000-odd Indian Americans living in the greater Kansas City area.
Amarnath, a software engineer from the Indian port city of Vizag, told a local newspaper that racial disparity is evident after Trump came to power. Indian American IT professionals are upset by the Trump’s proposed visa curbs and many of them want to leave the country.
Samarpita Bajpai, who runs a dance company, told Reuters that she was now too scared to leave her apartment late at night.
Most Americans, who have never traveled outside the US, cannot distinguish between people from South Asian and the Middle East, said Kansas City resident Ajay Sood.
After fleeing the bar, the shooter reportedly told the bartender at another venue that he had just killed two men from the Middle East.
Purinton was charged with premeditated first-degree murder by Johnson County District Court on Thursday.
There is some truth in what people say about dumb-ass Americans. There are too many of them dumb-asses.
To be fair, when he called the US "his" country, he had historical justification.
Through most of human history, violence was the typical response toward uninvited foreigners. Uninvited by the people, that is — not by unrepresentative regimes.
It was also the expected reaction when groups saw themselves being pushed out of their native lands.
Purinton is the hate that open borders produced.
Wait till you see the bill of expenses for putting him in jail – free food, free roof, free entertainment, 20-25 years, with unemployment benefits after release.
A potentially explosive piece of ammunition for propaganda against Trump and his policies. Trump’s opponents can easily use the murder to recruit large number of immigrant supporters in their plot to oust Trump before his term is up.
Most Indian Hindus from India were euphoric over Trump’s Islamophobia believing that only Muslims would be at the receiving end of this hate. Americans can not tell a Muslim from a Hindu; be ware of what you wish for. Welcome to the real world.
Any white going off the rails, for whatever reason, is red meat for the leftist crowd. Have seen their cognitively and emotionally stunted antics before, will see them again. Yawn.
Remember, please — plenty of folks, while not endorsing his actions, "get" where he was coming from, and also "get" the intellectual La-La-Land wherein "immigrant supporters" reside.
It is hard to break an atom it is even harder to break Prejudice. I am an Indian American who call USA my home since 30 years. Terrorism have affected my country for many years but never did we have took a radical action . People in America has been fueled by hate in this whole Presidential election. I as an Indian can very well say we are educated, law abiding, pecaeful ,tax paying citizens .Our religion has never taught us to take someone’s life due to disliking of any one. I am really concerend where are we heading with this. Nevertheless I am very closely associatec with law enforcement,some veterans and people from all walk of life . Let me remind all that all these is a result of Iraq-Afghanistan war which was un called for as it was just one man’s personal war (Dick Cheney) . we lsot so many of out own soilders . Even caualties were on innocent kids and women on otherside ….I am just shocked were we are heading with this kind of rhetoric. I understand hte pain of family who lost their only bread earner who was here to work and feed his family. We need to look deep into our own foreign policy. we have created more enemies then friends. Remeber whatGandhi said when India was going thru it’s freedom from Brirish rule: " Eye for an Eye will make the world blind"
The murderer was charged with murder.What happened to Dadri lynching perptrators? And Pune techie murder incident?Did modi at least condemn those incidents?
Try thinking clearly before talking.
The "USA" and "Canada" are countries that didn’t exist prior to the arrival of Europeans.
As for land, it belongs to whomever can take it, and keep it. If whites won’t hold onto the lands they took, and kept — let alone their historical homelands — then they’ll be judged quite harshly by history. And rightfully so.
BTW, with the name "Joe," I assume you’re not residing in China, but in one of the lands that were "stolen."
RACISM is in the DNA of white human beings..it was given to them as natural selected process..as described by charles darwin..so whether the past now or the future my message to..you guys is you are wasting time in this argument..some things will never change..confrotation.with china is next,then india again..and then africa again..
Living in USA for 30 years and still calling india your country? Go back to india,
Lal Bawa India is my birth right Motherland and America is my adopted Motherland . I am proud of my heritage. Going back to India ..I do go back and forth so no issues. . Ha ha ha .
You’re just jealous.