BURSTRep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk “horrific” and urged Congress to take action on gun violence legislation.
“This is horrific. This is awful, and the assassination of Charlie Kirk risks an uncorking of political chaos,” the New York Democrat told reporters outside the Capitol Wednesday.
“Are we going to do something, or are we going to argue over rhetoric? That is my question about this,” she added. “We have to pass gun safety legislation and stop this.”
Kirk, an influential Trump ally and co-founder of the Turning Point USA organization, was shot and killed Wednesday while speaking to a crowd at a college event at Utah Valley University (UVU).
As of Thursday morning, the gunman remains at large, but police say they have footage of the suspect and recovered a rifle they believe belonged to the shooter.
Public figures across the ideological spectrum have condemned political violence in the wake of the assassination.
Democrats have renewed calls to pass gun reform legislation. After news of Kirk’s shooting broke, but before the 31-year-old was pronounced dead, Ocasio-Cortez similarly called for the end of “the scourge of gun violence and political violence.”
“The shooting of Charlie Kirk is the latest incident of this chaos and it must stop,” she continued in her post on the social platform X. “We cannot go down this road. There is no place for it in America and we wish for his recovery.”
Kirk, a prominent gun rights advocate and outspoken surrogate for the Trump administration who was credited with helping President Trump gin up support among young voters last year, died Wednesday shortly after being transported to an area hospital in Utah.