Kansas shooting: Garmin employee Srinivas Kuchibhotla was shot dead at Kansas bar in alleged hate crime.
Highlights
- Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, shot dead by US Navy veteran
- He worked at company that dealt with aviation systems
- He was very sharp, had an exceptional personality, says former colleague
Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, was having a drink with his friend, also from India, in a bar on a week night. It was about 7.30 pm - hardly too late to be out. He worked at an American multinational Garmin in Kansas.
Then, a US navy veteran opened fire at Mr Kuchibhotla and Alok Madasani, yelling, "get out of my country." Mr Kuchibhotla died. His friend survived. So did a young American who tried to help them by attempting to wrestle the gun away from the shooter.
Both the Indians worked for an American firm called Garmin in a section that deal with aviation systems.
"He was very sharp. A top-of-his-class kind of guy," said Rod Larson, who interviewed Mr Kuchibhotla in 2007 for a job at the company where he worked before moving on to Garmin. "His personality was exceptional. He was the kind of employee every manager would want," the manager said in an interview to a
local newspaper.
Mr Kuchibhotla married his wife, Sunayana Dumala in 2012; like him, she is from Hyderabad and works at a software firm in Kansas.
Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj has said on Twitter that Indian diplomats are being sent to Kansas to help arrange for Mr Kuchibhotla's body to be brought home to Hyderabad.