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Navy veteran charged in Olathe bar shooting that killed 1, injured 2

Posted at 7:31 PM, Feb 22, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-27 17:56:53-04

UPDATE: According to the Henry County Sheriff's Department, Adam Purinton is being moved to Johnson County. Officers began the transition around 11:30 a.m. Friday. He will appear in court on Monday, February 27 at 1:20 p.m. in the Johnson County, Kansas District Court.

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A Navy veteran is now facing charges accused of shooting three people, killing one, at a popular bar.

Adam W. Purinton 51 is charged with one county of premeditated murder and two counts of attempted murder, Johnson County Prosecutor Steve Howe announced.

Purinton is being held at the Henry County Sheriff's Office in connection with the shooting at Austins Bar and Grill at 151st and Mur-Len Road around 7:15 p.m Wednesday night.

Austins Bar and Grill released a statement Thursday evening.

"We want to express our empathy for the victims and families of this tragic event. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of the victims. We are so sorry that this happened on our premises. We have never experience any sort of tragedy like this in our 30 years. For all of our loyal friends and patrons, we want to thank you for your ongoing support. We will be working diligently doing anything we can to support and help the parties that were involved. We will also be giving our staff and patrons the needed time to process the event, so our 151st street location will reopen on Saturday."

Purinton waived his extradition on early Thursday afternoon, according to law enforcement officials. He was charged with one count of murder and two counts of attempted murder.

The bond is set at $2 million, and it is unknown when he will be taken back to Johnson County.

Paramedics transported the victims to University of Kansas Hospital. Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, died at the hospital while Alok R. Madasani, 32, and Ian P. Grillot, 24, are recovering from their wounds.

RELATED | Olathe community stunned, saddened by bar shooting

 

 

After the shooting

The shooting prompted a massive manhunt in the Scarborough neighborhood. On Thursday afternoon Olathe police swarmed Purinton's home on W. 155th Terrace off of Lindenwood Dr.  

 

Police in Clinton, Missouri arrested Purinton Thursday around 12:40 a.m. at an Applebee’s.

Police arrived at the restaurant and took the suspect into custody without incident. The suspect was unarmed. Lynch did not know about the sobriety of the suspect.

On Thursday afternoon Olathe police swarmed Purinton's home on W. 155th Terrace off of Lindenwood Dr.  

Neighbors said shooting suspect "could never quite fit in" 

41 Action News spoke to neighbors who said they were surprised to find out they were looking for the man they lived next to for years. 

“He was like a square peg in a round hole, he could never quite fit in,” said neighbor Richard Morris. “I would have never thought he’d do something like this.”

Neighbors said Purinton was a recluse and an alcoholic.

Lisa Puckett, one of Purinton’s neighbors has known him for 18 years

“It was difficult to have a good relationship with him because he was drunk most of the time,” Puckett said. 

She said his drinking gained him some notoriety in the cul-de-sac. The problem, neighbors said, got worst when his father died of cancer in Oct. 2015.

People who were at the bar during the fatal shooting said the suspect was disgruntled. 

Shooting suspect has Navy past

The Pentagon confirmed that Purinton served in the Navy. They are working to pull his records from the archive, but said the process could take weeks.

The FAA told 41 Action News Purinton worked as an air traffic controller until 2000. Over the last few years he been working odd jobs. 

“We knew that he worked at a liquor store we were told that he was also washing dishes at Minsky's my husband has seen him there so I know that he was doing various jobs in the area,” Puckett said. 

Neighbors and Purinton’s family said the Navy veteran recently was diagnosed with blood cancer and had PTSD.

“Pretty much the whole neighborhood always just wanted to check on him and make sure that he's ok we were all concerned collectively that he would hurt himself never in 1 million years  did I think he would hurt someone else,” Puckett said. 

Outpouring of support for the victims and their families

In a Facebook post, pastor at the United Methodist Church of Resurrection Adam Hamilton refers to the shooting as an apparent hate crime.

Ian Grillot told hospital staff that he is grateful to be alive. 

GoFundMe accounts were set up for the victims and their families. 

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