"At 12.23pm on Wednesday, as the rightwing influencer and provocateur Charlie Kirk was addressing a large crowd at Utah Valley University, a single shot rang out. He was struck fatally by a bullet in the neck, sending thousands of screaming students scattering in all directions and propelling the country into a new and dangerous crisis. Exactly one minute later, at 12.24pm, about 450 miles to the east in Colorado, a 911 call came in to first responders in the mountain town of Evergreen."
"The sense of shock that has ricocheted across the US since the Kirk shooting has been palpable. Cable news shows and social media feeds have been overflowing with intense browbeating and soul-searching about the parlous and perilous state of the nation. There have been umpteen calls to prayer, plenty of partisan name-calling, and even dark warnings about a coming civil war. What has been noticeable by its absence, though, is virtually any talk about the instrument that lies at the heart of America's copious ongoing blood-letting: the gun."
At 12.23pm Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in the neck while addressing a crowd at Utah Valley University, sending thousands of students fleeing and creating a national crisis. One minute later in Evergreen, Colorado, a 16-year-old opened fire on high school grounds, critically wounding two students before turning the gun on himself. The near-simultaneous incidents highlight the pervasive, quotidian nature of gun violence across the United States. Public reaction ranged from palpable shock to intense media scrutiny, prayers, partisan recriminations and warnings of civil unrest. Conversations about the firearm itself were notably scarce amid the response.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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