New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was quick to link the tragedy to America’s gun laws, placing the blame on firearms and, by extension, on what she described as Republican unwillingness to limit access to certain types of weapons, following the shocking assassination of Turning Point USA founder and leading conservative voice Charlie Kirk.
In footage released by the Daily Caller News Foundation, Ocasio-Cortez, standing among a crowd of reporters, echoed a familiar Democratic theme when asked about the often dire language her party uses when describing former President Donald Trump and his America First movement.
“You know, beyond rhetoric, we need to talk about action,” she began. “Yes, words matter, but leadership is not just about speeches—it’s about action. We are in positions of responsibility where the American people expect us to do something about this.”
She went on to emphasize the toll of gun violence: “Every single day people are dying due to gun violence in America, and every single day there are people in this very building who continue to vote against doing anything about it,” she said, pointing toward the U.S. Capitol.
According to Utah Valley University’s Associate Vice President for Strategic Communication Management, Ellen Treanor, Kirk was shot at approximately 12:20 p.m. local time while attending a campus event.
“We had a speaker, Charlie Kirk, who was invited by the student organization Turning Point USA, and he began speaking at noon today,” Treanor explained in a statement to Fox News. “At about 12:20, shots were fired from a building roughly 200 yards away from the event. To the best of our knowledge, Mr. Kirk was struck and was immediately evacuated by his security detail. The campus has since been closed for the remainder of the day, and our campus police currently have a suspect in custody.”