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 Kansas, in which Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, was killed and his colleague Alok Madasani was critically injured.
Ms. Swaraj wished Mr. Grillot a speedy recovery.
Indian Consul-General in Houston Anupam Ray met Mr. Grillot and his family on Thursday at the University of Kansas Hospital and handed over the message from Ms. Swaraj.
“India salutes the heroism of Ian Grillot! Best wishes for speedy recovery,” Mr. Ray wished Mr. Grillot on behalf of the Minister and the people of India, KSHB-TV reported.
Mr. Grillot was released from the hospital on Tuesday.
Mr. Ray said Ms. 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, Mr. Grillot said, “I look forward to being able to go meet everybody.”
Mr. 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.
Mr. 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.
In a video from his hospital bed, Mr. Grillot 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.”
