Kansas shooting: Fund for Indian men and bystander shot in 'racist' attack raises thousands

Fundraising webpages set up to pay for the funeral of a man who was gunned down in a bar have raised more than $882,000 (£708,000).

Srinivas Kuchibhotla, a 32-year-old engineer from Hyderabad, India, was shot dead in Olathe, Kansas as he drank with his co-worker Alok Madasani, 32.

His colleague was also injured and Ian Grillot, a 24-year-old bystander, was shot when he attempted to intervene and apprehend the shooter.

Some of the money will go towards their medical expenses.

The suspected gunman, Adam Purinton, 51, is alleged by witnesses to have shouted “get out of my country” before opening fire on Mr Kuchibhotla and Mr Madasani.

Police said the suspect told them he thought they were Middle Eastern.

A page for Mr Kuchibhotla, whose funeral will be in India, had more than $513,000 (£411,000) in donations. A second combined campaign for Mr Kuchibhotla and Mr Madasani had more than $74,000 (£59,000) and a third site for Mr Grillot had more than $295,000 (£237,000).

Sunayana Dumala, Mr Kuchibhotla's wife, told a news conference organised by the technology company Garmin, where her husband and his colleague worked, that she wondered what the US would do to stop hate crimes against minorities.

She also called on Donald Trump's administration to do more.

She said she had questioned whether the couple belonged in the US but was reassured by her husband, who would have celebrated his 33rd birthday next month.

“We've read many times in newspapers of some kind of shooting happening everywhere," Ms Dumala said. “I was always concerned: 'Are we doing the right thing staying in the United States of America?' But he always assured me good things happen to good people.”

Describing her husband was a “very loveable soul”, she said his murder had plunged parents and relatives in India into grief.

“And I need an answer,” she added. “I need an answer from the government…about what they are going to do to stop this hate crime.”

Purinton, a Navy-veteran who lived near to where his victims worked, has been remanded in custody in Kansas ahead of a court hearing next week.

He has been charged with premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of attempted premeditated first degree murder. He has not been charged with a hate crime.

Mr Grillot, 24, of Grandview, Missouri, was in "fair condition" but still "feels sore" after the attack. He said that the bullet went through his right hand and into his chest, just missing a major artery but fracturing a vertebra in his neck.

Mr Madasani is believed to have been released from hospital.

Despite allegations the attack was racially motivated, the White House dismissed suggestions of a link between the shooting and the President’s "America First" rhetoric on jobs and immigration as “absurd”.

Mr Trump’s spokesman, Sean Spicer, said: “I mean, obviously, any loss of life is tragic, but I’m not going to get into, like, that kind of – to suggest that there’s any correlation – I think is a bit absurd.

“So I’m not going to go any further than that.”

A spokesperson for Garmin, which produces GPS devices, said it was devastated by the “senseless tragedy” and praised Mr Grillot for his “heroic efforts” to detain the gunman.

“Srinivas was a valued member of our engineering team and will be greatly missed,” the rep said.

“We are working closely with Srinivas's and Alok’s families and appreciate the outpouring of support for them.”

The Indian government said its diplomats would monitor the Kansas investigation, as mourners gathered in Hyderabad for the return of Mr Kuchibhotla’s body.