EDITORIAL - Assassination

The latest “school shooting” to happen in the U.S. was actually more than that. Many are calling it an assassination, owing to the high degree of possibility that politics was behind the killing.

As hundreds watched, a gunman, shot and killed activist Charlie Kirk as he was talking with students at the Utah Valley University during an event of his “American Comeback” tour  last Wednesday.

Kirk was a conservative political activist, author, and media personality. He was also known for his engaging personality, as he preferred to debate face-to-face with those against his views as opposed to just shouting at them online.

Videos of the incident aren’t easy to watch as they capture the moment Kirk was struck by the bullet, blood gushing from his neck, and the resulting panic of the crowd.

There’s no doubt Kirk was the intended target, the shooter didn’t shoot anyone else despite how crowded the event was. Police have released an image of Kirk’s alleged killer and are now looking for him.

While leads have been scarce, many suspect Kirk was killed for his beliefs. That he was killed by someone who didn’t like his views, someone who wouldn’t likely prevail against him in a civilized discussion.

No one should be killed for his or her views. We are no longer in that age where violence is used to resolve matters. Or that age where speaking out is frowned upon.

Aside from finding Kirk’s killer, the U.S. now has to focus on something else; how to tame the tide of violent radicalism.

Being a radical isn’t inherently bad, but when someone who is radicalized decides to act violently to carry out those beliefs, especially political beliefs, then that’s when it becomes a problem.

It’s a sad fact that political violence has become more common in the U.S. We saw this in the storming of the U.S. Capitol by violent protesters, we saw this in the assassination attempt on U.S. President Donald Trump before he was reelected.

If nothing is done to stem this tide we suspect that Kirk’s death won’t be the last. Of course, the fact that a wide cross-section of Americans have access to all kinds of guns further complicates the matter, but that’s another issue entirely.