A tweet Charlie Kirk posted 11 years ago is gaining traction again due to its eerily prophetic resonance in the wake of his tragic death.
The political activist, 31, was shot dead on Wednesday while speaking at a rally at Utah Valley University. Just 20 minutes into the event – and mere seconds after Kirk had answered a question relating to mass shootings in the US – a single shot rang out.
The estimated 3,000 people in attendance erupted in panic as Kirk slumped back in his seat having been struck in the neck by a bullet believed to have been fired by a shooter hidden on a nearby campus rooftop.
Kirk’s security detail were quick to rush to his aid, and the conservative commentator-come-influencer was swiftly taken to hospital. Tragically, he was pronounced dead 90 minutes or so later, though experts weighing in on the matter online have speculated that the catastrophic manner of Kirk’s injury would have resulted in his death in minutes.
Given Kirk’s celebrity status and history of generating viral clips through the debates occurring at his talks, it was hardly surprising that a good many event goers were filming with their mobile phones at the moment when the shooting happened.
Said videos immediately made their way to social media, with a number of them – including objectively shocking material – doing the rounds before the mainstream media had time to properly report on the incident.
The fallout from Kirk’s murder has been explosive and widespread. President Donald Trump was among the first to declare that the 31-year-old had died, and the subject has dominated news headlines over the past two days.
Now a particularly gut-wrenching tweet posted by Kirk himself back in 2014 has resurfaced, and its ominously foreboding connotations are unmistakable.
“Did I just get shot by an AR-15? Feels like it,” Kirk said.
Though authorities are yet to confirm the weapon used in the taking of Kirk’s life, the AR-15 semi-automatic rifle ranks among one of the more popular in the US. Certain reports claim an estimated 25 million are owned by civilians.
The rifle has also garnered a morbid reputation as being the go-to weapon of choice for mass shooters in the country.
Yesterday President Donald Trump ordered flags to be flown at half mast across the US after Kirk’s death, while the manhunt to find the shooter is ongoing.
The FBI yesterday released new footage of an individual jumping down from a rooftop and fleeing the scene, while a rifle and ammunition were found in nearby woodland.
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