Prosecutors on Thursday charged a 51-year-old man with murder and attempted murder after he allegedly started shooting in a crowded suburban Kansas City bar, killing one man and injuring two others, in an attack that some witnesses said was racially motivated. Authorities repeatedly declined at a news conference to say whether the shooting was a hate crime although local police said they were working with the FBI to investigate the case.

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A bartender at Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kansas, said that Adam Purinton used “racial slurs” before he started shooting on Wednesday night as patrons were watching the University of Kansas-TCU basketball game on television.

Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, died at an area hospital, police said. Alok Madasani, 32, and Ian Grillot, 24, were hospitalised and are in stable condition, they said. The Linked-in accounts for Kuchibhotla and Madasani say that they were engineers working at GPS-maker Garmin and had studied in India.

Local, county, state and federal law enforcement authorities attended the news conference where the murder charges were announced.

Asked if the presence of federal authorities indicated the shooting could be considered a hate crime, FBI special agent Eric Jackson said it was too early to determine. “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.”

Bartender Garret Bohnen told the Kansas City Star that Kuchibhotla and Madasani stopped at Austins for a drink once or twice a week.

“From what I understand when he was throwing racial slurs at the two gentlemen (Kuchibhotla and Madasani), Ian (Grillot) stood up for them,” Bohnen said. “We’re all proud of him.”

Witnesses also told the Star that Purinton yelled “get out of my country” before he opened fire.

Grillot said in an interview from his hospital bed that when the shooting broke out, he hid until nine shots had been fired and he thought the suspect’s gun magazine was empty.

“I got up and proceeded to chase him down, try to subdue him,” Grillot said in a video from the University of Kansas Health System posted on the Star website. “I got behind him and he turned around and fired a round at me.” Grillot said that the bullet went through his hand and into his chest, just missing a major artery.

“It’s not about where he (victim) was from or his ethnicity,” Grillot said. “We’re all humans, so I just did what was right to do.”

GoFundMe pages were started to help pay expenses for all three of the victims.

U.S. Senator Jerry Moran of Kansas posted a statement on Facebook saying that he was very disturbed by the shooting. “I strongly condemn violence of any kind, especially if it is motivated by prejudice and xenophobia,” Moran said.

Purinton was taken into custody just after midnight on Thursday morning at an Applebee’s about 70 miles to the southeast of Olathe in Clinton, Missouri, authorities said.

Assistant Clinton Police Chief Sonny Lynch said an Applebee’s bartender summoned police to the bar where the man was drinking because he said he’d been involved in a shooting. The unarmed Purinton was taken into custody and interviewed by detectives from Olathe.

“He mentioned he had been involved in a shooting and we went out there and picked him up,” Lynch said.

The bar where the shooting took place was closed Thursday, with a sign in the door that said it would remain closed indefinitely. </s> Srinivas Kuchibhotla was shot dead at Kansas bar in US in alleged hate crime </s> WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Two Kansas men are due to be sentenced for their roles in a hate crime attack on three Somali men.

U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten will sentence Armando Sotelo and Omar Cantero Martinez at a hearing Wednesday.

Prosecutors say the two yelled racial and anti-Somali slurs at the men, who were sitting on a bench outside an African grocery store in Dodge City. They then attacked them.

This undated photo provided by the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office in Wichita, Kan., shows Omar Cantero Martinez, of Kansas. Martinez and one other man are scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017, for their roles in a hate crime attack on three Somali men outside an African grocery store in Dodge City in June 2015. (Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office via AP)

Martinez used a broken glass bottle to stab one man in the abdomen, arm and back and slash another man on the arm. A third injured man escaped to get help.

The men were tried last year on several hate crimes charges but the trial ended in a hung jury. They later pleaded guilty - Sotelo to one hate crime count and Martinez to one perjury count.

This undated photo provided by the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office in Wichita, Kan., shows Armando Sotelo of Kansas. Sotelo and another man are scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017, for their roles in a hate crime attack on three Somali men outside an African grocery store in Dodge City in June 2015. (Sedgwick County Sheriff's Office via AP) </s> PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Criminal homicide charges have been filed against a man accused of killing 11 people and injuring several others inside a Squirrel Hill synagogue on Saturday.

Police say 46-year-old Robert Bowers walked into the Tree of Life Synagogue yelling anti-Semitic slurs and shooting at worshipers while three separate services were going on.

The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office has now filed charges against the alleged gunman, which include 11 counts of criminal homicide, along with counts of attempted homicide, aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation.

The attack went on for about 20 minutes and the FBI is treating the shootings as a hate crime.

“Members of the Tree of Life synagogue conducting a peaceful service were brutally murdered in their place a worship by a gunman targeting them simply because of their faith,” Bob Jones, of the FBI, said.

Investigators say Bowers was armed with an AR-15 and three handguns. He exchanged gunfire with police before he was subdued and taken to the hospital. Four officers were among the injured.
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According to court paperwork, Bowers made statements to police “that he wanted all Jews to die and also that they were committing genocide to his people.”

“It is a very horrific crime scene,” Pittsburgh Director Of Public Safety Wendell Hissrich said. “It’s one of the worst that I’ve seen.”

A former rabbi at the synagogue admitted he always feared something like this would happen.

“There’s a lot of anti-Semitism out there and there’s a lot of hate out there. You can just look in the news every day. It’s sobering that it’s touched our community,” Rabbi Chuck Diamond said.

Investigators say it appears that Bowers acted alone.

Stay With KDKA.com For More Details </s> Two southwest Kansas men face sentencing for their roles in a hate crime against black Somali men in Dodge City. U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten is expected to decide on Wednesday their punishment for a June 2015 assault on three strangers because they were black and from Somalia.

Start the conversation, or Read more at The Capital-Journal. </s> Two southwest Kansas men face sentencing for their roles in a hate crime against black Somali men in Dodge City.

U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten is expected to decide on Wednesday their punishment for a June 2015 assault on three strangers because they were black 

 and from Somalia. Two of the victims were stabbed with a broken bottle.

Armando Sotello has pleaded guilty to one count of a hate crime for the attack on a Somali man who was sitting on a bench with two other Somali men outside an 

 African grocery Store in Dodge City.

Omar Cantero Martinez pleaded guilty to perjury for falsely testifying during a federal trial related to the hate crimes that ended with a hung jury. </s> (CNN) A 19-year-old man was in custody after a shooting at a California synagogue on the last day of Passover left at least one person dead and several others wounded, the city's mayor said Saturday.

The shooting occurred at Congregation Chabad in Poway, north of San Diego, Poway Mayor Steve Vaus said. He described it as a possible hate crime.

President Donald Trump, speaking outside the White House Saturday, told reporters, "At this moment it looks like a hate crime, but my deepest sympathies to all of those affected and we'll get to the bottom of it."

The Palomar Medical Center Poway received four patients from the shooting, according to a trauma surgeon.

One patient, a 60-year-old woman, died at the hospital, Dr. Michael Katz said. An employee of the synagogue identified the dead woman as Lori Kaye.

"The other three victims are doing well with their injuries," he told reporters.

A 57-year-old rabbi who was shot suffered what looked like defensive wounds to both of his index fingers. He will likely lose his right index finger, the doctor said.

A 34-year-old man and a girl had shrapnel injuries. The girl, whose age was not given, was wounded in one leg and in the face. She was transferred to a children's hospital and will be monitored overnight.

Vaus said he considered it a hate crime "because of statements that were made when the shooter entered."

San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore later identified the suspect as John Earnest, of San Diego. Authorities are investigating to see whether Earnest is connected to arson at a mosque in nearby Escondido from last month, he said.

The mayor said the congregation was targeted by "someone with hate in their heart ... towards our Jewish community and that just will not stand." The congregation "took security very seriously," he said.

Gore told reporters that the gunman was armed with an "AR-type assault weapon."

Authorities said an off-duty Border Patrol agent fired at the shooter as he was fleeing the scene, but didn't hit the suspect. Gore said it appears the agent, who the sheriff thinks is a security guard, hit the suspect's car. It is unclear why the suspect fled but it is possible his gun might have malfunctioned, the sheriff added.

The suspect fled the scene and called 911 to say he was involved and give his location, San Diego Police Chief David Nisleit said. A San Diego K-9 officer arrived and the shooter surrendered without incident, he said.

Gore said the suspect was being interviewed by detectives and the FBI.

The sheriff refused comment on a motive.

"I want you to know this is not Poway," Vaus told reporters.

The sheriff's department announced later that authorities believe the shooter acted alone.

Rabbi, while wounded, calls for unity

Congregation member Minoo Anvari, who said her husband witnessed the shooting, said the rabbi called for unity and prayed for peace even after getting shot.

"Rabbi said, 'We are united,'" said Anvari, a refugee from Iran.

"This is something bad (that) is happening all over. And we have to believe that this bad thing is real and we don't have to ignore it. We have to open our eyes. He prayed for peace. I respect him -- even in spite of being injured he refused to go to hospital and he spoke. And he finished his speech and he then left the synagogue."

Anvari said her husband told her the shooter was cursing when he opened fire.

A witness told CNN affiliate KGTV there were six or seven shots followed by screams and then another volley of shots. The witness said the wounded rabbi tried to calm the gunman and members of the congregation.

Congregation Chabad is in Poway, north of San Diego.

The San Diego Police Department is assisting sheriff's deputies with the incident, according to a tweet from Nisleit.

"No known threats however in an abundance of caution, we will be providing extra patrol at places of worship," Nisleit said.

The sheriff said the shooting happened at 11:23 a.m. (2:23 p.m. ET). The synagogue's Facebook page said a Passover celebration was scheduled for 11 a.m.

Did the gunman preface the shooting online?

Authorities are aware of an open letter posted online purportedly by Earnest, Gore said in a news conference. Detectives are "collecting digital evidence" and are in the process of reviewing the online content "to determine its validity and authenticity," the sheriff said.

CNN has read through an open letter posted to the anonymous message board 8chan before the shooting.

In the posting, someone identifying as Earnest references killing Jewish people without making actual reference to Poway, San Diego or the synagogue involved in the shooting. The letter writer talks about planning the attack and references other attacks on houses of worship, including the attack on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh and the Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand. The writer also talks about his disdain for Jews and claims responsibility for a mosque fire in Escondido a week and a half after the attacks in Christchurch.

The open letter is structured in a similar fashion to the manifesto linked to Christchurch attack suspect Brenton Tarrant, replete with a question-and-answer section in which the writer refers to questions he comes up with about his character, political affiliation, and motivation for carrying out the alleged shooting.

Passover ending

Passover, one of the holiest Jewish celebrations of the year, ends Saturday.

The incident comes months six months to the day after the shooting at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh.

On October 27, Robert Bowers stormed the synagogue, killing 11 people in what the Anti-Defamation League said was the deadliest anti-Semitic attack in US history. A federal law enforcement official said at the time that Bowers made anti-Semitic statements during the shooting and targeted Jews on social media.

The Chabad of Poway website said the congregation is a center for Jewish people of all backgrounds. It was established in 1986.

Poway, about 20 miles north of San Diego, has about 48,000 residents. It is an upper-middle-class community that calls itself "The City in the Country." The city website said it has one of the lowest crime rates in the state. </s>  Two Kansas men are due to be sentenced for their roles in a hate crime attack on three Somali men.

U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten will sentence Armando Sotelo and Omar Cantero Martinez at a hearing Wednesday.

Prosecutors say the two yelled racial and anti-Somali slurs at the men, who were sitting on a bench outside an African grocery store in Dodge City. They then attacked them.

Martinez used a broken glass bottle to stab one man in the abdomen, arm and back and slash another man on the arm. A third injured man escaped to get help.

The men were tried last year on several hate crimes charges but the trial ended in a hung jury. They later pleaded guilty — Sotelo to one hate crime count and Martinez to one perjury count.

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. We strive to uphold our values for every story published. </s> A 39-year-old suspect told police that he hated white people after he was arrested for killing three people in Fresno, California, on Tuesday.

The alleged gunman, Kori Ali Muhammad, reportedly shouted “Allahu Akbar” — “God is great” in Arabic — when police took him into custody after his cold-blooded murder spree. Muhammad opened fired shortly before 11 a.m. PT with a high-caliber pistol near a Catholic Charities building in downtown Fresno. Using a speed loader, he fired off 16 rounds in four locations in less than a minute, reports Reuters.

His three victims, all white males, were seemingly chosen at random and had no apparent connection to the gunman. The first was shot multiple times while sitting in a gas and electric truck, the other two were gunned down on foot — one while crossing the street, and the other in the parking lot of the Catholic Charities, according to NBC. The gunman, who was also on foot, fired at another individual, but missed.

A ShotSpotter alerted Fresno police to the gunfire; cops closed in on the suspect as he was running down the street, reports the Fresno Bee. Muhammad, who referred to himself as “Black Jesus,” has a lengthy criminal record, and his Facebook page was reportedly full of ranting posts against white people and “anti-government sentiment.” Authorities had been searching for Muhammad in connection with the murder of a security guard at a Fresno Motel 6 last week.

Fresno police have not yet said whether they are classifying this as a terror attack. The investigation is ongoing, with assistance from the FBI and ATF.
In an apparent hate crime, an Indian engineer is shot dead and another injured in Olathe, Kansas.