DAYTON — Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at an event in Utah on Wednesday.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 11:00, the shooting occurred at Utah Valley University, which is located in Orem.
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Cedarville University Political Science Professor Dr. Mark Caleb Smith said he was shocked that it happened, but not terribly surprised.
He said it feels like the country is entering a phase where this kind of violence is becoming more common.
“Nobody deserves to be shot for what they’re saying in public,” he said.
President Donald Trump announced Kirk’s death on his Truth Social account.
“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. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!” Trump wrote.
Politicians locally and nationally have since shared their thoughts on social media.
>>RELATED: Charlie Kirk killed after shooting at university event; Ohio politicians react
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said political violence is completely unacceptable.
Former President Joe Biden said there is no place in our country for this kind of violence.
The professor said the trend of political violence stretches beyond party lines.
“There’s a lot of heated rhetoric on both sides that are using words and concepts like war. And this is the end of the world if this administration wins. And so this kind of heated approach to politics. You know, I fear that it encourages a rash reaction,” Caleb Smith said.
He added that the country’s political discourse is broken.
A public forum, similar to Kirk’s rallies, should not be the only way people have political conversations.
“It reveals the fact that we think that’s what’s necessary for discourse,” he said. “In other words, it’s not taking place inside the classroom. It’s not taking place inside the cafeteria or the dorm room. We’ve got to have a public spectacle about it that we use it to generate attention.”
News Center 7’s Mason Fletcher asked Caleb Smith about a possible solution.
“I think the best case scenario, you get a talented leader who’s able to reach across the aisle, reshuffle their party, rethink all of the issues, and then sort of politics reorients itself when we see a change for at least 20 to 40 years,” he said.
But he compared right now to the political climate in the ’60s and ’70s.
Americans saw the assassinations of President John F Kennedy and civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr., along with two other assassination attempts, and the civil rights movement.
“We see phases throughout American history where things get really hot, things boil, and then eventually we sort of figure things out. We move past it. And so I hope that we’re going to figure things out, move past it. But, you know, my fear is this we’re just starting,” he said.
Caleb Smith said he hopes for more civility around the country after Kirk’s death.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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