Kansas resident Ian Grillot, who was shot and wounded when he tried to intervene in an attack on two Indian engineers last month, has been invited to visit India by the government.
The invitation was conveyed to Grillot by Anupam Ray, India’s consul general in Houston, during a meeting at the University of Kansas Hospital on Thursday. At the meeting, Ray read out a tweet from external affairs minister Swaraj.
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{{/usCountry}}Ray, who was accompanied by consul RD Joshi and vice consul Harpal Singh, told 24-year-old Grillot his “bravery and kindness speaks louder for and is more representative of America than the violence” on the night that Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla was shot and killed in Olathe city of Kansas state.
The diplomats also told Grillot and his family “how grateful they were for his act of heroism the night of the shootings” at Austins Bar & Grill on February 22, according to a statement from the University of Kansas Health System.
“Grillot and his family were invited to India as soon as Grillot is able to travel”, Ray said. Grillot replied he looked forward to meeting Swaraj.
Ray said, on behalf of India, “they would celebrate Grillot and forever remember his actions”.
Grillot was discharged from the hospital late on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he went to church and then stopped by Austins Bar & Grill for “closure”.
He and his family came to the hospital on Thursday to meet the Indian diplomats.
Kuchibhotla was killed and his colleague, Alok Madasani, was injured when US Navy veteran Adam Purinton opened fire at them at the bar after shouting “get out of my country”. Grillot was hit in the chest by a bullet when he tried to tackle Purinton, who was later arrested in adjoining Missouri state.
In his first interview after the shooting with Hindustan Times, Grillot had said he plans to visit India, a country that has long interested him.
“It’s the one place I always found very interesting growing up as a kid – the heritage and the culture. I’ve always wanted to take a journey there. I think I’ve found myself a good reason to go there now. So I’d definitely have to be making a trip there sometime in the near future,” he said.
Read our continuing coverage of the Kansas Shooting.