Kansas shooting: Hate crimes on rise in US, Donald Trump must speak out, says Hillary Clinton

Houston: Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has asked US President Donald Trump to break his silence on the killing of Srinivas Kuchibhotla, who was shot dead in Kansas last week in a suspected hate crime.

Taking to Twitter to express he views on the unfortunate incident, Clinton said, “With threats & hate crimes on rise, we shouldn't have to tell @POTUS to do his part. He must step up & speak out.”

Trump is yet to comment on the shooting, which took place last Wednesday night, leaving Indian techie Srinivas Kuchibhotla dead and two others injured in an apparent hate crime.

Kuchibhotla was killed and Alok Madasani was injured when Adam W Purinton, a white man who earlier served in the US Navy, shot them at the Austins Bar and Grill in Olathe, Kansas state, on Wednesday night.

Purinton reportedly got into an argument with the victims and hurled racial slurs. He yelled "get out of my country", "terrorist" before shooting them.

Kuchibhotla of Hyderabad and his colleague Madasani from Warangal district in Telangana were working as aviation programme managers at Garmin, an MNC.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer said last week that it was too early to call the act a hate crime.