TIL Desk World/ Kansas City/ Hundreds of people in Kansas City joined a peace march and prayer vigil, celebrating the life of Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla cut short in a senseless triple shooting incident at a pub in an apparent hate crime. Marchers held pictures, banners and shouted, “We want peace”; “We love peace”; “Let us not leave our children”; “Unity is part of community, together we stand, divided we fall”. Many of them carried candles and signs reading, “We don’t support politics of hate.”
The march for peace and the prayer meeting was attended by friends of Srinivas. Alok Madasani, another Indian who was wounded in the shooting, was on his crutches. The sisters of the third man, an American identified as Ian Grillot, injured that night when he intervened during the argument with the shooter US Navy veteran Adam Purinton, Lt Governor Jeff Colyer, US Congressman Kevin Yoder, Olathe Mayor Mike Copeland, Olathe Police Chief Steven Menke, and other state officials also joined the march and the prayer meeting.
At a news conference two days ago, Srinivas’s wife Sunayana Dumala asked the US government what it would do to stop hate crimes against minorities. She said reports of bias against minorities make them afraid and wonder whether “do we belong here”. Although Sunayana did not mention Trump by name, she did say, “Not everyone will be harmful to this country.”