Ammo Used By Charlie Kirk’s Killer Allegedly Engraved With ‘Trans and Anti-Fascist’ Ideology
The right-wing activist spent final moments fielding questions about how many trans Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years – the answer is very few.
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This is a developing story.
Bullets recovered from the rifle believed to have been used to shoot Charlie Kirk were engraved with “transgender and antifascist ideology,” according to the Wall Street Journal. The paper cited an internal law enforcement bulletin and a person close to the investigation, though it later urged caution against reaching conclusions based on that internal report. The high-powered, bolt-action weapon was discovered wrapped in a towel in the woods near Utah Valley University, where Kirk had been speaking yesterday as part of his “American Comeback” tour.
Related: False Leads And Online Rumors Cloud Hunt For Charlie Kirk’s Killer
In the final moments of his life, the right-wing activist fielded questions around the topic of gun violence.
“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” asked a member of the crowd. Kirk replied: “Too many.”
The questioner then asked Kirk how many overall mass shootings there had been in that time, and Kirk replied, “Counting or not counting gang violence?” Then a single shot was heard as Kirk took a bullet to the neck and went limp.
The alleged presence of wording on the bullets is reminiscent of messaging found on shell casings at the murder scene of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024: “delay, deny, defend” and “depose.”
While it is suspected that Kirk’s killer was a skilled marksman, we still do now know his motivation, though it’s widely speculated to be political. From the Oval Office yesterday, Donald J. Trump blamed the “radical left” in the absence of both evidence and a detained person of interest. What we do know is this: Kirk’s murder just heightened the peril of the moment. Right now, multiple historically Black colleges are on lockdown under terrorist threats. And with eyes on the ammo engravings in Utah, our already-vulnerable transgender citizens are being swept into the fray of this dark chaos—by virtue of simply existing.
Just last month, Robin Westman was identified as the shooter at Annunciation Catholic School and Church in Minneapolis. Fingers immediately pointed to Westman’s gender identity, followed by portrayals of trans people as violent and suffering from mental illness.
Is there an epidemic of transgender shooters in the United States?
According to the data, significantly less than one percent of all mass shootings in the U.S. are perpetrated by trans individuals. The number would be closer to, at most, a tenth of that tiny fraction ( 0.1 percent). The majority of perps are consistently white cisgender men, according to the Rockefeller Institute of Government.
It says a lot that Charlie Kirk took his last breaths speaking to how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years. It says a lot about the mood of our country, and how vilified some of us have become for simply choosing to be our authentic selves in the spirit of a foundational promise: “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
During a time when the transgender community is at risk of being targeted with further escalations of hate, the rarity of violence perpetrated by transgender individuals cannot be overstated.
