Washington, DC – Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday (Mar 1) offered congressional condolences to India following the murder of an immigrant in Kansas during a meeting with the visiting Indian Foreign Secretary Subrahmanyam Jaishankar:
“In our meeting, I expressed the House’s condolences on the death of Srinivas Kuchibhotla, who was senselessly murdered last week in Kansas,” Ryan said in a post-meeting statement.
“The relationship between the United States and India is rooted in shared values of democracy and freedom. We had a great opportunity today to build on this critical partnership by discussing ways to enhance our economic and defense cooperation,” the statement said.
“Our peoples must continue to stand together, and I look forward to working with Foreign Secretary Jaishankar in the years ahead,” Speaker Ryan concluded.
Other government agencies including the White House and the State Department also commented on the tragic fatal shooting.
Answering a question recently during an off-camera press gaggle at the White House, Sean Spicer told journalists, “Any loss of life is tragic but I’m not going to get into that kind of — to suggest that there’s any correlation I think is a bit absurd, so I’m not going to get any further than that.”
Frankie Sturm, Press Officer, the State Department cited a statement issued by the US Embassy in New Delhi.
Chargé d’Affaires MaryKay Carlson at the US Embassy in New Delhi said in the statement, “We are deeply saddened by this tragic and senseless act. Our deepest sympathies are with the victims and their families. The United States is a nation of immigrants and welcomes people from across the world to visit, work, study, and live. US authorities will investigate thoroughly and prosecute the case, though we recognize that justice is small consolation to families in grief.”
Two Indian engineers working in Kansas were shot last week, one fatally, by a man who thought they were Iranian and reportedly told them to “get out of my country.” The shooting, which is being investigated as a hate crime, provoked widespread anger in the Indian origin community in the US and also in India.