Charlie Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA and right-wing activist, was fatally shot on Wednesday, Sept. 10. The shooting took place at Utah Valley University during a campus event hosted by TP USA.
Officials initially took a suspect in soon after the shooting but later released him. Authorities are continuing to hunt for the shooter, according to the New York Times. As of 8 p.m. on Sept. 10, two people have been questioned by the police, but no one is currently in custody.
Kirk was visiting Orem, Utah on the first stop of “The American Comeback Tour.” He had been hosting an outdoor campus debate, as was typical for him, when a shot rang out across the pavilion.
News of the shooting broke instantly across social media platforms. Prominent political and social media figures shared in this grief, including President Donald Trump, who was the first to announce Kirk’s death on Truth Social at 4:42 p.m. EDT.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me and now, he is no longer with us,” Trump wrote in the post.
However, there were many online less than sorry, pointing out that at a TPUSA event in 2023, Kirk said, “I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year, so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational.”
Moments like these only emphasize that we, as Americans, have reached the point where condoning extreme violence – or even brushing it off – has become that new normal, and the end-all solution for political issues.
Political violence is an escalating threat in the United States, rising rapidly within the last year alone. The shooting of Minnesota state representative Melissa Hortman on June 14 is only one example.
Hortman, her husband and their family dog were shot and killed in their home by a man parading as a police officer. The suspect, Vance Luther Boelter, was arrested the next day after a large manhunt.
Boelter also shot and wounded Minnesota Senator John Hoffman and his wife, although both survived.
The U.S. has unconsciously built the narrative that, when presented with a leader or a policy that doesn’t hold itself to the standards that we might, it is our narrative to correct it with the, often violent, measures we see fit.
According to John Hopkins University, the Capitol Police said they had more threats against Congress members in 2024 than ever before.
Comments on Kirk’s latest Instagram post include “RIH, rest in hell,” “You did say some deaths were acceptable for people to keep your guns. At least you put your money where your mouth is. Or, where it was, at least,” and “Well, at least Charlie isn’t on this f*** a** planet anymore.” Another post from a nonprofit organization contains the caption, “What happened to Charlie Kirk happens to Palestinians every day in Gaza and he cheered it on.”
Mocking comments appeared on Hortman’s latest Instagram post after her death as well, including “Bye bye” with a laughing-face emoji and “You are one vile disgusting woman.”
There should be no acceptance of an act of violence committed so extreme; this should be a slap in the face to a nation that claims it is one of life and the pursuit of happiness. Citizens such as these commenters are just adding to an already escalating problem of violence that we face.
On a smaller level, political violence has become a societal norm of heartlessness. The death of a human is always a serious matter, no matter the alignment of political standards between you and them. The death of Kirk, for example, leaves behind a widow and two fatherless children who were guilty of nothing but being family.
The growing level of political divide over the past few years has decreased empathy and increased incivility. Rather, the division should encourage us to find ways to come together and unite again as a country before we drive it to a place of no return. We should not allow political idealizations to become the deciding factor between life and death.
The problem of heartlessness in the U.S. should be treated as a pressing matter, one which we must rectify immediately. Should we continue on this path of mocking death and shooting those that are not like us, the only result will be acts of senseless violence; no change can come from such an evil place.
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Patrick Kyanda
Charlie Kirk's death, has brought me a very bad day. I only see immoral people who hate America and Israel every where. So sad