Trump ally and youth activist Charlie Kirk shot and killed at Utah campus rally
發佈日期: 2025-09-11 20:50
TVB News
Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and an influential ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was shot and killed Wednesday at a Utah college campus event.
Utah's governor described the killing as a political assassination.
FBI Director Kash Patel said a person had been detained for questioning, then released, and a manhunt is still underway for the gunman.
This was the scene just moments after a single shot rang out, hitting Charlie Kirk in the left side of his neck.
Stunned spectators were heard gasping and screaming before scrambling and scattering in the chaos.
Kirk played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters.
The 31-year-old had been speaking at a rally at Utah Valley University, talking about gun violence when the incident occurred.
He had been speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white gazebo emblazoned with the slogans "The American Comeback" and "Prove Me Wrong."
Authorities said the gunman apparently fired the single gunshot that killed Kirk from a distant rooftop.
An eyewitness said: "I can't believe it happened in Utah of all places where he has so much support. Obviously, the opposition was here and now we're looking at a murder scene."
Another stated: "It was a mix of both people running, people ducking, people jumping into the... jumping into the fountain and running for their lives."
In a lengthy video statement released on social media late Thursday by the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump praised Kirk and blamed rhetoric from the "radical left" for Kirk's assassination and said demonising opponents must stop now.
Trump said: "This is a dark moment for America. Charlie Kirk travelled the nation, joyfully engaging with everyone interested in good-faith debate. His mission was to bring young people into the political process, which he did better than anybody ever. For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now."
Democratic representatives also spoke out about political violence.
Democratic representative of New York Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said: "This is horrific, this is awful, and the assassination of Charlie Kirk risks in uncorking a political chaos."
Kirk's killing is part of a troubling rise in political violence, from the assassination of a Democratic state lawmaker and her husband in Minnesota to last summer's shooting of Trump -- events that have roiled the nation.
