Racism In America: In Olathe Shooting, Drunk Man Yelling Racial Slurs Opens Fire In Kansas Bar

Update: 2:46 a.m. EST -- A shooting incident in Olathe, Kansas, was being investigated as a homicide by local police, after one of the three injured victims died later in the hospital, a statement Thursday by the local police department said.

Original story:

A drunk man opened fire in a crowded Kansas restaurant Wednesday night after yelling racial slurs. A massive manhunt was launched by the police in Olathe, Kansas, after the man shot three people and then ran away.

Two of the three victims were of Middle Eastern or Indian descent, according to witnesses, reports said. Two of the victims were in critical condition and one was seriously injured, Olathe Police Sgt. Logan Bonney said, according to the Kansas City Star.

"We’re going to be talking to a lot of people. We’re going to continue to interview witnesses, and anybody that has information. We’re asking them to give us a call or call the TIPS Hotline. We’re going to continue to talk to them and when we get additional information or leads, we will follow up on those until we make an arrest," Bonney said.

The gunman was believed to be a white man in his 50s who took shelter in a nearby house, which was later surrounded by police late Wednesday night. The man, who was not named, was eventually arrested. The suspect may have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Roughly 25 percent of Americans own a gun and whites are twice as likely as blacks to have firearms.

Overt racism might be on the rise in the U.S. The number of hate groups increased from 892 in 2015 to 917 last year, the Southern Poverty Law Center said. Anti-Muslim hate groups grew from 34 in 2015 to 101 last year, a 197 percent increase that was linked to President Donald Trump's remarks on law and order and Muslim terrorists.

"Anti-Muslim hate has been expanding rapidly for more than two years now, driven by radical Islamist attacks including the June mass murder of 49 people at an Orlando, Florida, gay nightclub, the unrelenting propaganda of a growing circle of well-paid ideologues, and the incendiary rhetoric of Trump — his threats to ban Muslim immigration, mandate a registry of Muslims in America, and more," the Southern Poverty Law Center wrote.