FBI says shooting of two Indian men in Kansas being probed as hate crime

WASHINGTON - The Federal Bureau of Investigation said on Tuesday it was investigating the shooting last week of two Indian workers at a bar in Kansas as a hate crime, according to a statement that ABC News posted on Twitter.

A 51-year-old man is accused of shooting and killing Indian aviation engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla and wounding his colleague, Alok Madasani, both 32, as they enjoyed an after-work drink at Austin's Bar in Olathe, Kan., about 20 miles southwest of Kansas City.

Eyewitnesses told reporters the attacker shouted 'get out of my country” and used racial slurs while opening fire on the Indian men. The shooting also injured 24-year-old Ian Grillot, another patron at Austin's, who apparently tried to intervene.

Police identified the suspected assailant as Adam W. Purinton, described as a Navy veteran, and said he was taken into custody Thursday in Missouri.

Kuchibhotla and Madasani each spent more than five years working for the Rockwell Collins avionics and information technology company in Cedar Rapids. After about late 2013, they moved on, eventually going to work for tech firm Garmin International.