A U.S. federal court has sentenced Adam Purinton of the U.S. state of Kansas to life in prison without parole, for the racially motivated killing of an Indian national at a bar in February 2017.
In a statement released Tuesday by the U.S. Department of Justice, Attorney General Jeff Sessions called the shootings “detestable” and said, “Such hateful crimes will remain a priority for the Department of Justice.”
The shooter at Austin’s Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kansas killed engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla and injured his companion, Alok Madasani. The co-workers from a GPS navigation company were both from the southern Indian city of Hyderabad.
A third victim, Ian Grillot, was shot when he chased Purinton as Purinton fled.
Tuesday’s ruling means Purinton will not receive the death penalty, after pleaded guilty earlier this year to three federal hate crime charges. Hate crime charges were applied because Purinton was alleged to have targeted the Indian men because of their race, color, religion, or national origin.
Witnesses say Purinton confronted the men, saying “get out of my country” before leaving the bar and returning with a gun. He later told a friend he had shot “two Iranians.”
After the shooting Purinton was apprehended at a bar in Clinton, Missouri.
Kuchibhotla’s widow, Sunayana Dumala, said in a statement that the sentence is “a significant step to putting an end to hate crimes committed against people of color and from different cultures.” She said the sentence sends a strong message that “hate is never acceptable.”
Following the shooting, Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj posted a statement on Twitter, saying he was “shocked” at the incident.