Featured Image Credit: JRE Clips/YouTube
Topics: Joe Rogan, MMA, UFC, United States, USA
Jack Kenmare
Joe Rogan was midway through a podcast with actor Charlie Sheen when producers broke the news that conservative activist Charlie Kirk had been assassinated at an event in Utah.
Kirk was shot dead on Wednesday while speaking in front of a crowd of 3,000 people at Utah Valley University, where he was taking part in his 'The American Comeback Tour'.
The 31-year-old, who founded conservative student group Turning Point USA, had travelled to college campuses across the country to discuss a range of political topics, including immigration, transgender issues and abortion.
He was responding to a question about gun violence in Utah when a shot rang out around 12:20 local time. The university confirmed that a 'single shot was fired on campus toward a visiting speaker', with the bullet striking Kirk in the neck and fatally wounding him.
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As the events unfolded, UFC commentator and popular podcast host Joe Rogan was approximately two-and-a-half hours into an episode of The Joe Rogan Experience with Charlie Sheen when they were told about the news.
As you can see from the video above, Rogan looked in shock after being informed about the shooting. “Should we bring this up? I guess we have to,” Rogan said, clutching his head. “So this has just happened. We just found out that Charlie Kirk got shot.”
“That’s f***ing awful,” Sheen said.
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“And... is he dead?” Rogan asked his producer Jamie Vernon. “One of the guys out there just said it was confirmed that he was dead.”
“Murdered for having a different opinion from somebody else,” Sheen replied. “Different ideology from somebody else... beliefs that didn’t align.”
“Yeah. Yeah,” Rogan said, at a loss for words. “I mean... I don’t know who did it or..."
Vernon then confirmed reports that Kirk had died. “Rest in peace. F***. He didn’t deserve that. Nobody deserves that," said Sheen, before Rogan gave his take on the "dangerous" situation.
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“There’s going to be a lot of people celebrating this," Rogan said. "It’s so scary. It’s so dangerous too, to celebrate or to in any way encourage this kind of behaviour from human beings.
"He’s not a violent guy, he’s talking to people on college campuses. He wasn’t even particularly rude. He tried to be pretty reasonable with people.”
“He’s a very intelligent guy whether you agree with him or don’t,” Rogan continued. “And there’s a lot of stuff I didn’t agree with him on, that’s fine. You’re allowed to disagree with people without celebrating the fact that he got shot.
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“What you’re supposed to do with a guy like that if you’re opposing him is debate him, have a conversation where your argument is more compelling than his. That’s what people should be celebrating, discourse, we used to do that.”
Sheen would later reflect on his own experience as a celebrity and added that the possibility of violence was always “in the back of our minds” during public appearances.
The FBI and Utah Department of Public Safety said they "were able to track the movements of the shooter starting at 11:52 am".
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As seen in the below footage that was released by the FBI, the suspect shooter climbed up onto the roof of a nearby building and "fled off of the campus and into a neighbourhood" after the incident.
Commissioner Beau Mason said the male suspect "appears to be of college age" and that "we are doing everything we can to find him".
FBI agent Robert Bohls also revealed that they "recovered what we believe is the weapon to be that was used in yesterday's shooting is a high powered bolt action rifle".
He added: "That rifle was was recovered in a wooded area where the shooter had fled. The FBI laboratory will be analysing this weapon."