Heroism of man who tried to save people in Kansas shooting hailed by India

India has hailed the heroism of Ian Grillot, the American who tried to stop the Kansas shooting and was himself injured.

Anupam Ray, the Indian Consul General in Houston, shared with him on Thursday the tweet by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj that "India salutes the heroism" of Grillot, the Kansas City Star reported.

In a video posted by the newspaper, Ray told him: "We will stand with you, whatever you need."

CBS News said that Ray had invited Grillot to India.

Ray met Grillot in the Kansas City hospital where he had been treated for injuries from the shooting by Adam Purinton, in which Srinivas Kuchibhotla was killed and Alok Madasani was injured last week in nearby Olathe.

Grillot had tried to stop Purinton, who turned on him and shot him several time. Purinton was at a bar where he saw the two Indians and shouted, "Get out of my country," before shooting them. News reports said that he later said that he thought they were Iranians.

Ray told Grillot that India would "celebrate" him in India and remember his heroism for ever.

Videos of the meeting showed Grillot wearing bandages on his right arm and shaking the diplomat's hand with his left.

Ray told him that Sushma Swaraj had 7.3 million followers and that her good wishes to him came with that of all of them.

--IANS

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