00:00Shock in the US after a prominent right-wing activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead while
00:05addressing students on a campus in Utah. Video footage showed Mr. Kirk, a close ally of Donald
00:11Trump, speaking and then slumping down in his seat. Charlie Kirk was credited with persuading
00:17young voters to support Donald Trump ahead of his election and was known to be close to the
00:22president and his family. In the last few minutes, Mr. Trump took to social media to confirm that
00:28Mr. Kirk has died. From Washington, Nick Beak has the latest.
00:34It started just like any other university event that Charlie Kirk has done, on the road to becoming
00:40one of President Trump's most prominent supporters. But soon after he took to the stage, this.
00:51A single shot and Charlie Kirk slumps to the floor, blood pouring from his neck.
00:59Panic on the Utah campus. A scramble for safety.
01:03I was watching from pretty close up and I heard a pop and I thought, no, that, that, nobody's
01:11shooting firecrackers, right? This is the middle of the day. And then I watched a fountain of
01:16blood come out of the side of his neck like a water fountain. And it was surreal.
01:20President Trump soon posted this message on social media. We must all pray for Charlie
01:27Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. God bless him.
01:3331 years old, one of America's most recognisable conservative activists, whose full-throttled support
01:40for Donald Trump, has supercharged the MAGA movement. His regular appearances, drawing crowds,
01:47and both support and criticism. Today's event in Utah was part of Charlie Kirk's so-called
01:55comeback tour. Eyewitnesses said he was asked about gun crime in the USA.
02:00A student went up there and asked Charlie Kirk a question about how many transgender shooters
02:07there had been in U.S. history. Charlie Kirk answered. The student gave him a rebuttal.
02:13And then Charlie Kirk goes to pick up the microphone to answer the second question. And that's when
02:18the shots went off.
02:19An activist whose voice had been heard far and wide never finished his sentence.
02:28Charlie Kirk had been credited with bringing huge support for President Trump, particularly
02:33among young Americans. And it was the president who broke the news of his death. He wrote on social
02:39media, the great, even legendary Charlie Kirk is dead. No one understood or had the heart of the
02:46youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by all,
02:51especially me. And now he is no longer with us. Melania and my sympathies go out to his beautiful
02:58wife, Erica, and family. Charlie, we love you. And we have heard that Charlie Kirk's wife and children
03:05were in fact at the university when he was shot earlier today. He was someone who invited everyone
03:13onto campus and encouraged this debate. Conservatives love this approach. He was attacked
03:18by liberals. Tonight, though, there is this universal sympathy for him. Tributes are being paid from
03:26across the political divide, across the political spectrum here in the United States. This, of course,
03:32is the latest episode of political violence. President Trump himself the target of two assassination
03:38attempts last year during the election campaign. And it will once again reignite the debate over gun
03:46control in this country. It's worth pointing out that this state where it happened, Utah, is a place
03:53where you can carry a loaded weapon in the street without a permit. Tonight, Rita, crucially, we're hearing
04:00that the gunman is still at large. They are on the run.
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