Man Who Allegedly Yelled 'Get out of My Country' Before Shooting Three Investigated for Hate Crime

Witnesses report that they heard Purinton yell “Get out of my country” before shooting Kuchibhotla and Madsani. After fleeing the scene, Purinton made his way to an Applebees in the town of Clinton, reportedly telling the bartender there that he “needed a place to hide out because he had just killed two Middle Eastern men.” Neither Madsani or Kuchibhotla are of Middle Eastern descent; they worked as engineers at Garmin and are believed to be from India, the Verge reports.

Grillot, the third man who was injured during the altercation, reportedly intervened in order to try and “subdue” the shooter. From the AP:

“I got up and proceeded to chase him down, try to subdue him,” Grillot said in a video from the University of Kansas Health System posted on the Star website. “I got behind him and he turned around and fired a round at me.”

Grillot said that the bullet went through his hand and into his chest, just missing a major artery.

“It’s not about where he (victim) was from or his ethnicity,” Grillot said. “We’re all humans, so I just did what was right to do.”

As of now, the FBI doesn’t have enough information to determine whether or not this is a hate crime. “This was a violent crime and we want the best prosecution that relates to this because there are victims of this crime and we want the community to know that,” FBI special agent Erick Jackson said, adding that they will “make sure that the individual involved in this is held accountable for his actions.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up for Kuchibhotla to cover funeral costs and grief and recovery support for his family, exceeding its goal of $150,000 in just nine hours. Purinton is being held on a $2 million bond.