A United States right-wing activist, Charlie Kirk, has died after being shot at a university in Utah.
President Donald Trump, while announcing the death of the activist on Wednesday, hailed his close ally as “legendary.”
“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,” Trump posted on Truth Social.
He added, “He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania’s and my sympathies go out to his beautiful wife, Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
The US authorities said they have detained a suspect in the fatal shooting.
“The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody. We will provide updates when able,” FBI Director Kash Patel said Wednesday.
Kirk, who was fatally shot at a US university on Wednesday, was the eloquent spokesman for a younger generation of Donald Trump’s hard-right Republican movement.
The 31-year-old boasted millions of followers on social media who applauded his provocative takedowns of hecklers and ideological challengers.
Kirk’s conservative ideology was closely aligned with Trump. He backed the US president’s false claims of fraud when he lost the 2020 presidential election and used his heavyweight influence to lash out at migrants and transgender people.
In speaking gigs at American universities, he invited students to debate with him in quick-fire exchanges that often went viral online, especially those with progressives opposed to his views.
It was during one of these events in Utah on Wednesday that he was shot in the neck in a moment of violence that was swiftly condemned on both sides of the political aisle.
When Kirk addressed a university crowd in Nevada last October, some in the audience told AFP he was a breath of fresh air on campuses that the political right complains are dominated by liberal ideology.
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