There is mounting pressure on federal authorities to classify the recent shooting of two Indian men at a Kansas City bar as a hate crime, as he is alleged to have shouted racial slurs before firing at the victims.

Garmin engineers Srinivas Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani, both 32, were shot when 51-year-old Adam Purinton began shooting into a crowd of made up mostly of customers watching a late college baskeball game on Wednesday. Kuchibhotla and Madasani are believed to have been the targets of Purinton's rage. At one point leading up to the attack Purinton is reported to have told the men "get out of my country!" Kuchibhotla would die from his gunshot wounds, while Madasani continues to recuperate at a local hospital. A third man, Ian Grillot was also hospitalized for injuries sustained while trying to protect the men.

Purinton was detained 5 hours later at an Applebee's 70 miles away, after he confided in a worker that he had just been involved in a shooting. He has been charged with murder and attempted murder in the Austins Bar and Grill shooting. Prosecutors have said that it is too early in the investigatory phase of the incident to determine that it was undoubtedly 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 ... we're looking to make sure that the individual involved in this is held accountable for his actions," FBI special agent Eric Jackson told the press, after confirming that local authorities are actively working with the FBI to determine whether he will also incur a hate crime charge.

Source: youtube.com