Sushma Swaraj writes to Kansas man who tried to save Kuchibhotla

Houston: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has sent a personal message to 24-year-old Ian Grillot, who was injured while trying to intervene during a shooting in which an Indian techie was killed in Kansas, and wished him a speedy recovery. The Indian Consul-General in Houston, Anupam Ray, met Grillot and his family yesterday at the University of Kansas Hospital and handed over the message from Swaraj. [caption id=“attachment_3313578” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Ian Grillot was injured on 22 Feb, 2017, when Adam Purinton opened fire at a bar in Olathe, Kan, killing one Indian man. AP[/caption] “India salutes the heroism of Ian Grillot! Best wishes for speedy recovery,” Ray wished Grillot on behalf of the minister and the people of India, KSHB-TV reported. Grillot was released from the hospital on Tuesday. Ray also said that Sushma Swaraj has 7.3 million followers, who all conveyed their best wishes. “We will stand with you, whatever you need,” he said. Responding to this Grillot said, “I look forward to being able to go meet everybody.” Grillot and his family are invited to India as soon as he is able to travel, according to a news release from the University of Kansas Health System. Grillot was shot in hand last week when 51-year-old American navy veteran Adam Purinton, prior to opening fire, uttered racial slurs and yelled “get out of my country” at the two Indian victims. Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, was killed while another Indian man and his colleague Alok Madasani was critically injured. In a video from his hospital bed, Grillot had said: “I was just doing what anyone should have done for another human being. It’s not about where he was from or his ethnicity.”