Moments Before Assassination, Charlie Kirk Took Questions On Gun Violence And Mass Shootings

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Charlie Kirk , a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump , was shot and killed on Wednesday while responding to a question linked to a gun violence and mass shooting.

Emma Pitts, a local reporter who was an eyewitness to the event, told The Guardian,“He was on the second question and it was regarding mass shootings and the person he was debating had asked about if he knew how many mass shootings had involved a transgender shooter, to which Kirk responded. Then he asked how many mass shootings there had been in total in the last couple of years, I believe."

“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” the person asked. Kirk responded,“Too many.”

The questioner followed up:“Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”

Pitts added,“And then before he could even answer, we heard a gunshot, and we just saw Charlie Kirk's neck turn to the side, and it appeared that he had been shot in the neck. There was blood, immediately a lot of blood.”

“....everyone immediately took to the ground. We were just trying to stay hidden. I don't know how quickly it was, probably within a minute, everyone started running away ... Since then, the university has been completely evacuated,” said Pitts.

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Charlie Kirk, who was instrumental in influencing young Republican voters, was fatally shot during a Utah college event on Wednesday.

“This is a dark day for our state. It's a tragic day for our nation," said Utah Governor Spencer Cox. "I want to be very clear, this is a political assassination.”

A person taken into custody on suspicion of involvement in the assassination was later released, the FBI director, Director Kash Patel, informed.

"The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency," Patel posted on X.

Also Read | Kirk once said gun deaths are 'worth it' to protect America's 2nd Amendment Who was Charles Kirk?

Charlie Kirk, an Illinois native who co-founded the conservative student group Turning Point USA at the age of 18 and went on to become a rising star in the Republican Party under Trump. He had just returned to the United States from an overseas speaking tour when he was shot to death on Wednesday. He was 31 years old.

Kirk had 5.3 million followers on his X account and drew an audience of more than 5,00,000 monthly listeners to podcasts of his radio programme, The Charlie Kirk Show. He also authored or contributed to several books, including Time for a Turning Point and The College Scam.

In addition to founding Turning Point USA in 2012 with conservative activist Bill Montgomery, Kirk launched Turning Point Action in 2019 as a non-profit advocacy group backing conservative candidates for office.

Turning Point USA, an organisation dedicated to advancing conservative causes on college campuses, was instrumental in driving youth support for Trump in the November 2024 election.

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