Ian Grillot, who was injured while trying to intervene during a racially-motivated shooting in Kansas in which an Indian techie was killed, has been released from hospital and invited to India to be recognised for his bravery. The University of Kansas Health System confirmed that the 24-year-old has gone home, but there's still a long road to recovery after he took two bullets, in the hand and the chest. "He has been through many hurdles since the shooting and still faces physician appointments and other critical meetings in the days ahead," the hospital said in a statement.
Mr Grillot was injured when he tried to stop the February 22 shooting of the two Indian techies in Olathe area. Srinivas Kuchibhotla, 32, was killed in the attack, while Alok Madasani was injured. Mr Grillot was released late Tuesday after spending nearly a week in medical care. He went back to the hospital yesterday to meet with Anupam Ray, consul-general of the Indian consulate in Houston.
Mr Ray told Ian and his family that people in India were grateful for his heroics during the deadly melee, according to the hospital. An invitation was extended to Ian and his family to travel to India once he got the medical green light to travel. Following his release earlier this week, Ian attended church on Wednesday and then returned to the crime scene for "closure," according to the hospital statement.
Adam Purington, 51, is accused of the shooting and faces both murder and attempted murder charges. The navy veteran is reported to have been harassing Kuchibhotla and Madasani – who both worked at GPS-maker Garmin – because he thought they were Iranian. Purington allegedly yelled "get out of my country" before opening gunfire on the pair, striking both along with Ian. As he spoke to reporters on Tuesday, Ian recalled how he escorted Purington out of the bar where the shooting happened after he was seen harassing the engineers. About half an hour later, Ian recalled, the shooter was back and firing.
"By the time he was done shooting, that's when I got up and tried to chase the…guy down," he said. "When I was chasing him down, trying to subdue him so that way he could be held responsible for his terrible actions, that's when he turned around and shot." Purington escaped, however, and was arrested hours later at an Applebees about 70 miles away from the crime scene.
Mr Grillot said Tuesday he didn't want to weigh in on what type of punishment Purington should get if he's found guilty, nor if he thought it was a hate crime. But that doesn't mean he's ready to forgive the suspected gunman anytime soon. "I do feel sympathy for him, but his actions were unjustified and uncalled for," he said. Many have considered it a racially motivated attack, calling on the White House to take action. President Donald Trump, in his first address to a joint session of Congress, also condemned the attack.
