It is rare today that all American flags were lowered at half-mast, including the White House.
(White House lowered half-staff)
This is an order issued by US President Trump to commemorate a ally, 31-year-old right-wing internet celebrity, Charlie Kirk.
(Charlie Kirk)
At noon Wednesday, US time, Kirk gave a speech at Utah Valley University, and about 3,000 people were said to have attended the rally.
Around 12:20 noon, a viewer asked about the mass shooting of Kirk, saying how many shootings involved transgender gunmen.
Kirk said too many, there were a lot of shootings caused by transgender people... Then there were actually gunfires on campus.
(a clip of Kirk's speech during his lifetime, which is also the last image before being assassinated)
I saw blood splattering, Kirk covered his neck and fell backwards...
Screams came one after another, and everyone hurriedly lie down to survive, thinking that a large-scale shooting was really coming....
(Scene chaos)
However, after a gunshot, the gunman seemed to have quickly escaped the scene, and Kirk was the only one who was actually injured.
Kirk was quickly transferred to the hospital, but the gunman seemed to be hit by Kirk's carotid artery, and he was pronounced dead two and a half hours later.
This matter is currently causing a big deal in the United States. US President Trump issued a special order to lower the flag of the whole United States to mourn at half a flag,
(Trump's original post)
Major media are scrambling to report, for example, Time magazine changed the cover to blood-red today, titled "Enough" to condemn violence...
(Time Magazine Cover)
Even the Democratic Party, which has a completely opposite political stance, has many people who have spoken out, including those with great weight, such as former President Obama...
(Original post by Obama
So who is Kirk? Why can his death stir up the storm?
In short, Kirk is the loudest "mouth substitute" among young American conservatives. He is the most typical American conservative you can think of: anti-immigration, anti-vaccine, anti-climate change, anti-LGBTQ, firm Trump supporters, keen on criticizing the Democratic Party...
As early as 2012, Kirk founded an organization called Turning point USA with others, dedicated to spreading conservative ideas among young people.
However, the reputation of this "turning point" organization is not very good. In 2020, ProPublica investigated the organization's financial status, criticizing them for making "misleading financial statements". Even financial audits were not completed by third-party auditors, and its leadership often enjoyed their own pockets.
For example, Kirk himself, his salary increased from $27,000 to nearly 300,000, and bought a premium apartment of $855,000 in Florida. In 2020, he received a salary of more than 325,000...
But none of this affects his reputation among the younger generation of conservative voters. As of now, Kirk has 5.6 million followers on Twitter and 9.1 million followers on Ins, and is an absolute super internet celebrity.
(The activities that Kirk participates in are always full of people)
Like many conservative internet celebrities, Kirk is also quite controversial while becoming popular. He often spreads conspiracy theories that seem to be very factual but cannot withstand detailed investigations at all.
For example, in July 2018, Kirk claimed on social media that the Ministry of Justice statistics showed that the number of criminals in trafficking in humans increased from 1,952 in 2016 to 6,087 in 2018, but later people found that his data was cut from the well-known conspiracy theory website 8Chan. Kirk then had to delete the post.
After the failure of Trump's election in 2020, he first proposed the so-called "Biden election fraud".
(called the new crown "China Virus")
The above is actually just a drop in the bucket. Kirk has been engaged in this industry since he was 18 years old. He has made countless controversial remarks, including calling George Floyd (the black man who was suffocated by the police) a "scum", calling Martin Luther King "is not a good person", "deified", saying that "abortion is murder", and even rape victims are no exception...
So you can imagine how much the people with left-wing political positions hate him, and even those with relatively neutral positions may be quite disgusted when they see some of his remarks.
The most important thing is that he is still very popular, and it is difficult for you to see this person at all...
This is probably the reason why he was shot. As mentioned earlier, the gunman only hit him, and his purpose is very clear. It is likely that he either revenges on society or hates him.
The most ironic thing in this matter is Kirk's attitude towards guns.
It is not difficult to guess that as a firm conservative, he must be the right to hold guns.
In 2023, during an event organized by the "Turning Point", he said that guns were a key means of "protecting themselves from tyrannical governments." As for the casualties caused by guns, he felt that it was a "necessary price."
"I think—unfortunately—there are some shooting deaths every year, but it is worth it so that we can pass the Second Amendment to guarantee other rights God has given us."
"Suppose that everyone in a society holds a gun but no gun dies, it is impossible, which is unrealistic. But I think - it is worth it."
"Driving comes at a price, and countless people die in traffic accidents every year, and that's the price. (Similarly,) armed citizens also come at a price, and this is part of freedom."
(Kirk's life photo)
He also said that the way to reduce gun violence is very simple, that is, to let more people have guns, even children: "If our banks, sports events, and planes have armed guards, why can't our children have them?"
Okay, I don't quite understand his brain circuit. I don’t know if he thought that one day he would become the “price” itself when he said that.
Next, let's talk about the Gunner's problem. Unfortunately, the police have arrested two suspects, but they have been proven innocent afterwards. The real gunman is still at large.
According to the scene restored image, Kirk himself was in the center of the stadium (bottom left corner below), while the Gunner stood on the roof of a building opposite, which was about 200 yards, or 182 meters.
(on-site restore)
After the incident, the police speculated that the gunman should have entered the parking lot from the rear of the building and then fled the scene on the trail...
(on-site restore)
The FBI has intervened at present, and it is said that more than 130 clues have been received and a comprehensive investigation is underway.
According to a FBI spokesman, they have found a powerful bolt-action rifle in the woods where the gunman ran away. The weapon will be analyzed next, hoping to arrest him as soon as possible.
About Kirk's death, American society was quite divided, people who hated him celebrated on social media, and those who supported him prayed for him and vigil.
Some people think he deserves it, and sarcastically said that he was "killed by "the thing he loved the most in the world", which is also considered "death."
(Comments from Twitter Netizens)
Some people mocked him: "If Kirk had a weapon, this would definitely not have happened, right?"
(from TikTok)
Some people liken Kirk to the Nazis and said, "Do you know what Nazi is the best Nazi? Dead. Thank goodness, that dung man finally disappeared from the world."
(from TikTok)
On the other side, outside the hospital where Kirk died, many people spontaneously gathered to watch over him,
(spontaneous vigil and mourn people)
A variety of candlelight and silence activities have been held for several rounds...
(People who are spontaneously vigiling and mourning)
The latest news is that Trump also said he would posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom, which is quite high.
The worst in this matter is Kirk's family. Kirk is just 31 years old, has a wife and two children, his daughter is just 3 years old, and his son is just 16 months old, and the whole family is present when he died, which is really a positive psychological shadow.
(Kirk family)
After Kirk's death, his wife did not respond on social media for the time being, but it is worth mentioning that she just posted a Bible a few hours before her husband's death:
"God is our refuge, our strength is our helping hand in trouble."
(Last update of Kirk's wife)
Now it seems that this passage has become a bit of a mere statement. I hope the whole family can be mourned and get out as soon as possible.
In addition, no matter how much you hate Kirk, it is too crazy to cover your mouth with murder. I hope the FBI can be more powerful and catch the murderer as soon as possible. Today is the anniversary of 911, and all the bad things are gone...
