EXCLUSIVE: A former Army sniper revealed to the Daily Star that Charlie Kirk’s murder was ‘not difficult’ for someone with experience, after the conservative firebrand was assassinated
An expert has claimed Charlie Kirk’s murder was “not necessarily difficult to achieve…for a trained sniper” after the conservative firebrand was shot from 130 metres away.
Conservative firebrand Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck yesterday, September 10, while addressing an audience at Utah Valley university. The controversial Republican was answering a question about transgender violence and mass shootings at the time of the shooting.
“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been shooters over the last 10 years,” one attendee asked Kirk in front of the thousands-strong crowd. “Too many,” Mr Kirk replied, to the roar of the audience. At that moment, the sound of a rifle cracking split through the air and Kirk recoiled in his chair. Graphic clips circulating on social media show the moment he was gunned down and the chaos in the audience that followed.
A car transported Kirk to a nearby hospital where he died, with Donald Trump confirming shortly before 3pm local time. The suspect is still at large, despite authorities detaining several people “of interest”, including an elderly man who was initially detained and later released.
Since the shock event, experts have chimed in with theories about the alleged gunman. Speaking to the Daily Star, a former Army sniper said: “A 200m headshot is not necessarily difficult to achieve, not for a trained sniper.
“Various factors would come into play such as wind speed, the light and firing from a concealed position. Preparation is also key. This shooter would have been practising on a range or somewhere where he could shoot without raising suspicion. He would have had to practice with the same ammunition he was going to use on the day and make sure his telescopic sight was correctly zeroed or aligned so he was going to hit what he was aiming at.”
The anonymous serving armed forces member also revealed the alleged shooter “would have been under a certain amount of stress”.
They added: “I have to say that luck was also on the shooter’s side. If he was aiming for a head shot he was slightly off because he hit the throat. If he was aiming for the centre of mass – the body then he was high.”
Earlier today investigators recovered what “we believe to be the weapon that was used in yesterday’s shooting” in a wooded area near Utah Valley university.
The FBI also released images of the suspect, while forensics are analysing “footwear impression” and “a forearm imprint”.
Kirk’s death has sparked a wave of bi-partisan tributes, while he leaves behind a wife and two young children, aged one and three.
In a post confirming Kirk’s death, US President Trump wrote: “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.”
The manhunt for Kirk’s assassin continues today.
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