Survivor of Kansas bar shooting released from hospital

KANSAS CITY, Kan. – A Kansas man who survived an apparently racially motivated shooting at a suburban Kansas City restaurant and bar is out of the hospital and has already visited the scene of the attack.

Ian Grillot, 24, was released from the hospital Tuesday, The University of Kansas Health System said in a statement Thursday. Grillot was one of three men shot Feb. 22 at Austins Bar & Grill in Olathe, Kansas. One of the men, Srinivas Kuchibhotla, was killed, and his friend, Alok Madasani, was wounded. An incident report that police released Friday shows a handgun was used in the shooting.

Both Kuchibhotla and Madasani were natives of India working as engineers for GPS-maker Garmin in Olathe.

A bullet hit Grillot in the hand and entered his chest when he tried to stop the suspected gunman, 51-year-old Adam Purinton, of Olathe. Purinton is charged with murder and attempted murder.

Witnesses say Purinton shouted racial slurs before shooting Kuchibhotla and Madasani.

On Wednesday, Grillot went to church and then stopped at Austins for “closure,” the hospital said in a statement. He returned to the hospital Thursday for a meeting with three officials from the Consulate General of India in Houston.

The dignitaries told Grillot and his family they were grateful for his actions the night of the shooting and invited Grillot and his family to visit India when he is able to travel. Consul General Anupam Ray told Grillot that his bravery is more representative of America than the violence at Austins, the hospital said.

The officials also met Thursday with Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, but no details of that meeting have been released. He said in a tweet that the “hateful actions of one man don’t define us.”

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This story has been corrected to show that the suspect’s name is Adam Purinton, not Puriton.