Republican activist Charlie Kirk was answering a student’s questions about gun violence just moments before he was fatally shot at a campus event at Utah Valley University.
He was at the university as part of his tour
Right-wing media personality Charlie Kirk was at Utah Valley University manning his ‘Prove Me Wrong’ table as part of his ‘American Comeback Tour’.
He was fatally shot at the event on Wednesday, September 10.
An audience member had been talking to him
Kirk was conversing with an audience member who asked him about mass shootings.
CNN reports that the audience member asked him, “Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?”
Kirk didn’t have an exact number as reply
To the person’s question, Kirk replied, “Too many.”
The audience member then went on to explain that five transgender Americans have been the perpetrators of mass shootings over the last 10 years.
They asked him another question after that
The audience member then asked Kirk if he knew the total number of mass shooters America had seen in the past 10 years.
To this, Kirk replied, “Counting or not counting gang violence?”
Kirk was shot seconds later
Footage of the moment of the shooting shows that, only a few seconds later, a gunshot was heard as Kirk got struck and clutched his neck.
The crowd is then seen dispersing in panic, with onlookers shouting, “Run, run, run!”
RELATED STORIES
One person said they thought it was fake
An onlooker who spoke to CNN said he initially thought the shooting was ‘an act or a performance’ because of its timing as it took place while Kirk was talking about gun rights.
He explained why he felt that way
The 45-year-old onlooker told the outlet, “My first thought was it was part of an act or performance, right, because you’re just not thinking clearly.”
“Because they’re interviewing and asking about gun rights with the (LGBTQ+) community.”
The shooter is still at large
The BBC as well as several other news outlets have reported that the shooter is still at large, with a manhunt still ongoing.
US President Donald Trump has ordered that US flags be flown at half mast until Sunday in mourning of Kirk’s death. The republican media personality was 31 years old and is survived by his wife and two kids.
