Charlie Kirk, a conservative American activist and influential ally of United States President Donald Trump, has been shot dead at a university event in Utah in an apparent targeted assassination.
Trump announced the death of Kirk, the 31-year-old cofounder of activist youth group Turning Point USA, in a social media post on Wednesday.
Trump said he had ordered flags across the US to be lowered to half-mast until Sunday in Kirk’s honour.
Videos circulating online show Kirk addressing a large outdoor crowd at Utah Valley University, a public institution located about 63km (40 miles) from Salt Lake City, when a shot rings out.
Kirk is seen recoiling and raising his hand to his neck as he falls off his chair, sending the attendees running.
Several other political figures, including Barack Obama has condemned the attack, sending his family and loved ones thoughts and prayers.
The ironic thing about the assasination, is that he was an avid supporter of the second amendment right of Americans (the right to own guns and firearms) and was speaking about gun control and gang violence when he was fatally shot.
It is sad that this is happening in this world that we live in today.
It almost feels like a very dramatic show. where a character died doing the one thing they loved, or in this case, loved talking about.
I hope his family and loved ones are able to ovecome this trying period. It is sad and he was an avid supporter of the one thing that could have made his assassination harder.
At the moment, police have arrested and detained a potential suspect, released said suspect after questioning, and are still on the hunt for his killer. They have found his murder weapon, and are on the hunt for ‘a colleged aged individual wearing dark clothes’.
I will leave you with these wise words from Charlie.
“I think it’s worth the cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the second amendment to protect our other God given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational.”
What do you think?
