Gov. Sam Brownback and lawmakers Thursday honored the victims of a shooting in Olathe that is being investigated as a hate crime.
Srinivas Kuchibhotla, an engineer from India, died after the triple shooting. Another man from India, Alok Madasani, was wounded, as was Ian Grillot.
Brownback signed a proclamation recognizing the victims and marking Thursday as Indian American Appreciation Day in the state of Kansas.
“This is wrong. It was terrible that it happened," Brownback said. "Now we’re going to try to move forward and rebuild and show what our shared values are really about, which is caring for our neighbor."
Witnesses say a man shouting racial slurs shot the two men from India. When Grillot tried to intervene, he was also shot.
House Speaker Ron Ryckman called the two survivors “heroes” and condemned the shooting.
“These acts do not define us and they will not divide us. This is Kansas, and acts of evil like this have no place here,” Ryckman said.
The suspected gunman, Adam Purinton, has been charged with first-degree murder and attempted murder.