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The White House has said linking the shooting of two Indian men in a crowded Kansas City bar to the US President's anti-immigrant rhetoric is 'absurd'.

Engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla was fatally shot in a bar on Wednesday night while Alok Madasani, also an engineer and a Hindu, was wounded in the attack that has sparked outrage in their home country.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said that any loss of life is tragic but it would be absurd to link the attack to President Donald Trump's rhetoric.

(Image: Facebook) (Image: Clinton Police Department/Reuters)

At least one bystander told the Kansas City Star the gunman shouted "get out of my country" before shooting the Indian victims.

Spicer today told reporters it was too early to guess at the motive for the incident.

The shooting has prompted concern that Trump's "America First" stance on immigration and jobs has fueled a climate of intolerance.

(Image: Getty)

The Indian government has rushed diplomats to the US state to monitor the progress of the investigation.

The suspect, Adam Purinton, has been taken into custody and was charged on Thursday with murder and attempted murder.

(Image: Reuters)

The suspect fled on foot and was arrested without incident five hours later at an Applebee's restaurant in Clinton, Missouri.

He reportedly told an employee there that he needed somewhere to hide because he had killed two Middle Eastern men.

Jaganmohan Reddy, father of Alok Madasani, said he thought it was a hate crime.

He said such incidents have increased after the recent political changes in the United States.

(Image: Reuters)

Kuchibhotla, who was killed in the attack, came from Hyderabad, the capital of southern Telangana state according to Indian external affairs ministry spokesman Vikas Swarup.

Mourners poured into Mr Kuchibhotla's home in Hyderabad, with his shocked parents Madhusudhan Rao and Vardhini Rao unable to talk since they received the news of his death.

(Image: Getty)

They have another son working in the United States and a third employed in India.

Mr Swarup said two Indian consulate officials from Houston and Dallas were sent to Kansas City to meet with Mr Madasani and facilitate the return of Mr Kuchibhotla's body to India.

Ian Grillot, a 24-year-old American who jumped to the defence of the Indians in the bar, was hailed as a hero by local media. He was also injured in the incident.

People call me a hero," Grillot said in a video released by the hospital where he was undergoing treatment for gunshot wounds to the hand and chest.

"I was just doing what anyone hould have done for any other human being."

"Decency and humanity always triumph in the end, but not without struggle and sacrifice," said Jayaprakash Narayan, a Hyderabad-based activist who lauded Mr Grillot's bravery.

The US embassy in New Delhi strongly condemned the shooting in Olathe, Kansas.

"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 recognise that justice is small consolation to families in grief," charge d'affaires MaryKay Carlson said.

Mr Reddy said he learned about the shooting from his eldest son, who lives in Dallas. His younger son moved to the US in 2008 for his master's degree.

Mr Reddy, who has spoken with his injured son over the phone, said he is worried about his safety and wants him to come back to India.

"I request other parents to think twice before sending their children to the United States," he said.