Assuming the facts of the case are as reported, this looks like simple second-degree murder to me.
Why do you think it's 'terrorism'?
Why does the race of the parties involved matter to you?
Why do you think it's 'terrorism'?
Why does the race of the parties involved matter to you?
Second degree murder is: 1) an intentional killing that is not premeditated or planned, nor committed in a reasonable "heat of passion"; or 2) a killing caused by dangerous conduct and the offender's obvious lack of concern for human life.
Most articles state the equivalent of the following, I'm using the one from The Verge: " Purinton has been charged with one count of premeditated first degree murder, and two counts of attempted premeditated first degree murder. "
> Why does the race of the parties involved matter to you?
" A witness said he yelled “get out of my country” to two of the victims, reportedly saying the men, believed to originally be from India, were “Middle Eastern.” "
That's the description of a hate-crime as he had no prior interaction with the victims. He picked on them precisely because of his perception of their skin color and mistakenly assuming they were his intended target out-group.
“Get out of my Country!” White Terrorist Shoots Asian-American Engineers in Wake of Trump Visa Ban"
>the unlawful use of violence and intimidation, especially against civilians, in the pursuit of political aims
I think the very clear and undisguised political aim here is to stop non-whites from feeling welcome or safe to live and work in America.
Because it mattered to the murderer.
EDIT: For clarity, it can be both a hate crime and terrorism.
Much of the anger here is coming from this undeniable attempt to deflect what this really is. Like that other guy said, own it.
In practice, that probably never happens. Hate crimes almost always coincide with the intent to terrorize the target population.
Nothing in my comment suggests this isn't terrorism. Saying "it matters to the murderer" can be applied equally to an act of terrorism or to hate crime.
Because it was a politically motivated attack on civilians, the standard the FBI uses to determine terrorism.
For all we know, there was some prior history between the suspect and the victims.
Then you should attempt to know more before commenting, such as reading the article, or any of the other articles about this incident, where the gunman literally stated what his motives were.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/02/kansas-city-shooting-i...
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/12/fbi-def...
“Domestic terrorism” means activities with the following three characteristics:
Involve acts dangerous to human life that violate federal or state law;
Appear intended (i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion;
or (iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and
Occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the U.S.
Edit:formatting