Trump ally killed in US

The killing of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk is a serious loss for US President Donald Trump's MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement, notes the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail.

"His death deprives the Trump movement of one of its most prominent and effective representatives," the publication believes.

Kirk was one of the most influential right-wing activists who managed not only to attract young people to the Trump movement but also to effectively use their support. The Globe and Mail calls his killing on a university campus in Utah symbolic, recalling that it was in such places that Kirk had successfully worked with young voters in recent years.

The publication emphasizes Kirk's significance to Trump, noting that as a sign of mourning for the murdered activist, the president ordered flags to be flown at half-staff across the country.

The political activist and Trump supporter Charlie Kirk was shot during his speech on the Utah Valley University campus in Utah. Kirk was wounded in the neck. He was taken to the hospital in critical condition. A little later, US President Donald Trump said that Kirk had died, according to the BBC.

Trump announced on his social network Truth Social that he had ordered flags to be flown at half-staff across the country for four days, until Sunday evening, as a sign of mourning.

"The great and even legendary Charlie Kirk is dead. No one understood or empathized with the youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. EVERYONE loved and admired him, especially me, and now he is no longer with us. Melania and I extend our condolences to his beautiful wife, Erika, and the family. Charlie, we love you!" Trump wrote.

Charlie Kirk, 31, is a well-known Trump supporter and podcast host who founded the student organization Turning Point USA to promote conservative values in schools, colleges, and universities.

Kirk was shot from a distance of 100 to 200 meters. Local authorities initially said they had arrested a suspect in the attack, but it was later revealed that the shooter had not yet been detained.