Charlie Kirk, an influencer and podcaster, conservative and face of those young people who support Donald Trump and conservative circles in the US, was shot during an event on the campus of the University of Utah. Here is what is known so far about the murder, summarized by Agence France-Presse, writes BTA.
The crime scene
At the head of the main youth conservative movement in the US - "Turning Point USA" (Turning Point USA), Kirk hosted a popular podcast and attracted millions of followers on social media. He is one of the co-founders of the aforementioned movement in 2012. Kirk was invited to speak at the University of Utah in Orem, about 60 kilometers from Salt Lake City. There, wearing a white T-shirt with the inscription “Freedom” and dark pants, sitting on a chair under a tent, Kirk answered questions from the audience as part of a tour that was supposed to take him to 15 cities across the country by the end of October. The meeting was organized under the banner “Prove Me Wrong”.
“There were a lot of people, he came in, he started warming up the crowd”, says former Republican congressman Jason Chaffetz, who was also present at the event.
Gunshot and then shouts
At some point, a gunshot rang out. This happens just as Kirk is answering questions related to the mass killings, according to eyewitnesses.
The 31-year-old activist collapses to the ground, wounded. Blood gushes from his neck. People start screaming in panic. The seriously wounded Kirk is carried away from the scene by his security guards on a stretcher, who dies shortly after.
“As soon as the shot rang out, some people ducked, others threw themselves to the ground, others started running and screaming in panic“, says Chaffetz, describing the moment of the shooting.
The search for the killer continues
So far, according to official information, no one has been arrested for the murder. Two people were briefly detained, but later released after questioning. One of them - a man named George Zane - was charged with obstructing the investigation of the attack. According to authorities, none of those detained had a direct connection to the shooting.
The shooting was from a building about 180 meters from where Charlie Kirk was. “The shooting came from the campus, most likely from the roof of a building“ and the shooter was wearing dark clothing, local authorities said, referring to the shooter as a sniper.
Trump announced Kirk's death and unanimous condemnation of the killing followed
Donald Trump announced that Charlie Kirk had died after being shot. "The great and even legendary Charlie Kirk has passed away," Trump said on his social media account, Truth Social.
On the other side of the political divide, Democrat Kamala Harris, who was Joe Biden's vice president and an unsuccessful presidential candidate against Trump, condemned the attack and said that political violence has no place in America. Other key figures on the left - Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders and Gavin Newsom - responded in similar ways.