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Topics: Politics, US News, Charlie Kirk
Joe Harker
A TV analyst has been fired for comments he made following American right-wing speaker Charlie Kirk being shot dead at an event in Utah.
The 31-year-old Turning Point USA co-founder died after being shot in the neck at an event hosted by Utah Valley University yesterday (10 September).
Officials say that a 'single shot was fired on campus toward a visiting speaker' and they believe the deadly shot was fired from the roof of a nearby building on campus.
Footage allegedly captured around the time Kirk was shot dead appears to show a figure on the roof of one of the university buildings, while other footage also appears to depict a person running from the rooftop in the immediate aftermath of the shot being fired.
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Police arrested two people in the wake of the shooting but both were subsequently released as they were found to have 'no current ties' to Kirk's death.
Reacting to the shooting on live TV, political analyst Matthew Dowd was asked on MSNBC to speak about 'the environment in which a shooting like this happens'.
He was fired for the response he gave as Dowd called out Kirk for his past rhetoric as part of the 'unfortunate environment' which resulted in the 31-year-old being shot dead.
Dowd had said: "He’s been one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups.
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"And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions. And I think that is the environment we are in.
"You can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have and then saying these awful words and not expect awful actions to take place. And that’s the unfortunate environment we are in."
The analyst's comments came in for criticism, prompting MSNBC's president Rebecca Kutler to release a statement saying: "During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable.
"We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise."
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Writing on the social media platform Bluesky, Dowd issued the following apology: "I apologize for my tone and words.
"Let me be clear, I in no way intended for my comments to blame Kirk for this horrendous attack. Let us all come together and condemn violence of any kind."
Dowd has been fired by the broadcaster following his TV comments, while a police manhunt for the shooter continues.