Garmin Engineers Shot in Kansas, One Dead

Two Garmin engineers and a Good Samaritan were shot in a crowded bar in Olathe, Kansas, early Wednesday evening (February 22). One of the Garmin employees, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, later died in a local hospital. His colleague Alok Madasani, also 32, and 24-year-old Ian Grillot were injured in the shooting. Madasani was subsequently released from the hospital, and Grillot is recovering. Kuchibhotla and Madasani are from India.

Witnesses told police that the shooter, 51-year-old Adam Purinton, shouted racial slurs and told the Garmin employees, “Get out of my country,” before he started shooting. Grillot intervened and was also shot. Purinton ran from the bar, but was arrested 80 miles away in Missouri after telling a bartender that he needed to hide out because he had just killed “two Middle Eastern men.” The bartender quietly called police, and Purinton—a U.S. Navy veteran, former air traffic controller, and private pilot—was arrested without incident about five hours after the shooting. He is charged with one count of first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder. Authorities are investigating the possibility of filing hate-crime charges.

On Thursday, Garmin issued a statement that read, in part: “We are saddened that two Garmin associates were involved in last night’s incident, and we express our condolences to the family and friends of our coworkers involved. Garmin will have grievance counselors on-site and available for its associates."

Kuchibhotla’s LinkedIn entry indicates he earned a bachelor’s degree at the Jawaharlal Nehru Technology University in India; and a master’s degree in electrical and electronics engineering from the University of Texas, El Paso. As of Thursday evening, a GoFundMe page had raised more than $150,000 for his wife and family.