00:00We are going to start this edition with breaking news coming from the United States,
00:04where conservative activist Charlie Kirk has been shot at an event at Utah Valley University.
00:10You can see the hospital where Kirk has been taken to at this point in time in Utah.
00:15The White House has expressed its shock at the development,
00:19with President Donald Trump asking supporters to pray for the conservative commentator and podcast host.
00:24One shot was reportedly fired, with the suspect in custody.
00:28Well, let's go straight away to France 24's Fraser Jackson, who joins us now from Washington.
00:34Fraser, what do we know so far?
00:37This is a developing situation, but we are being told by the AP as well
00:41that Charlie Kirk is in a critical condition in hospital in Utah after seemingly being shot in the neck.
00:48Now, Kirk was giving a speech at an event at a university just south of Salt Lake City in Utah.
00:54School officials said that the gunshot was fired from the top of a building on campus,
01:00which was approximately 200 metres from where Kirk was speaking.
01:04Video, a very graphic video, I must say, that is circulating online shows a popping sound,
01:11as Kirk then appears to get shot in the left side of his neck,
01:14with a significant amount of blood then pouring out of his neck before he falls to the ground of the tent
01:21and people start running away.
01:22As I said, his condition now currently critical, according to the Associated Press.
01:28Now, his organisation, Turning Point USA, has confirmed that,
01:31saying to NBC News that he is in the hospital and that they are praying for him at this time.
01:37Police say that a suspect is in custody.
01:41Again, video circulating online shows the alleged gunman to be a grey-haired man on the ground,
01:49surrounded by law enforcement, as he says,
01:52I have the right to remain silent.
01:54Of course, that video, not independently verified yet that that is indeed the shooter.
01:59But we are having now reaction pouring in from across the political spectrum.
02:03Donald Trump, the President of the United States, saying we must all pray for Charlie Kirk,
02:08who has been shot a great guy from top to bottom.
02:11God bless him.
02:12J.D. Vance also echoing that.
02:14The Vice President saying,
02:16Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father.
02:20We're also getting some more words on the investigation into all of this from FBI Director Kash Patel.
02:26He said that we are closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.
02:31Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected.
02:35Agents will be on the scene quickly, and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation.
02:43On the opposite side of the political spectrum, we're also hearing from some top Democrats as well.
02:48Chuck Schumer saying,
02:50Political violence has no place in America.
02:52This shooting is horrifying, and I'm praying for Charlie Kirk and his family.
02:57Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House, also saying the horrific shooting today at Utah Valley University is reprehensible.
03:05Political violence has absolutely no place in our nation.
03:09But currently, Charlie Kirk still in hospital in Utah in critical condition.
03:13Fraser, just very quickly, for those who aren't familiar with Charlie Kirk and why this event has elicited such a response from the highest up in the U.S. government,
03:24could you just explain who he is, what he does very shortly?
03:27Yeah, Charlie Kirk, very well known here in the U.S., perhaps less so internationally, but he's a 31-year-old right-wing political activist and media personality, also a father of two small children.
03:39He's been one of the most prominent activists in recent years because he founded this non-profit, effectively, called Turning Point USA, which goes across the country and tries to recruit young members into the Republican Party and into the MAGA movement and to get them to vote for Donald Trump.
03:57And he's been extremely successful at that over the course of the last decade or so and has really become quite a key person in the MAGA movement and an ally of Donald Trump as well.
04:08He once called Donald Trump the bodyguard of Western civilization.
04:12But like I said, he's been a keen supporter, very quickly becoming one of the highest profile people within the MAGA movement.
04:17But he has broke with Donald Trump on a couple of issues over the course of the last few months, the strike on Iran by the U.S. that we saw and also the handling of the Epstein files as well.
04:26He then got reeled in on that by Donald Trump, but he is still very key to the MAGA movement and to getting fresh blood in the MAGA movement as well.
04:37Well, Fraser, thank you so much for that update.
04:39We will be keeping our finger on the pulse as far as Charlie Kirk is concerned throughout the next minutes and the night to come.
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