this post was submitted on 11 Sep 2025
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[–] mudpuppy@hexbear.net 122 points 1 week ago (1 children)

shooting a guy from pretty far away and having him die from the bullet definitely is the type of thing a professional sniper would get up to. brilliant

[–] TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today 55 points 1 week ago (2 children)

It's a pretty decent shot for your average joe, but by no means something that requires a "professional". Anyone with a little experience with rifle hunting usually has a grouping of 3-4 inches or better at 200 yards. Assuming they were aiming center mass, they were ranged high by about 4-5" high, but dead center for windage.

So imo a good shot considering the nerves that come with the situation, but a bit sloppy if we were talking about target shooting at the range.

[–] SickSemper@hexbear.net 66 points 1 week ago (17 children)

People treating a 200 m shot like it’s a Hitman style assassination is blowing my mind, yes it was a precise single shot, but immediately going “specops marksman inside job” for that distance is wild

americans see one instance of actual competence and lose their minds

[–] TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today 34 points 1 week ago (1 children)

It's not anything to sneeze at considering the circumstances, I've whiffed worse at 200 yards on a deer. However, it's not exactly going to require Jason borne or anything.

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[–] Le_Wokisme@hexbear.net 28 points 1 week ago (1 children)

a little rough with irons from the shoulder, pretty easy with a scope and anything to set the gun on. main issues are going to be wind and not zeroing the scope with the ammo you're using on the big day.

[–] TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today 21 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I'd say it would be an excellent shot with irons from the shoulder, but my eyes aren't what they used to be. Windage and zeroing aren't really a factor at 200 yards unless the wind is extreme. Even with bad wind at 200 yards most of your hunting caliber rounds will only drift 2-3 inches at most. Most long range rifles are zeroed at 200-300 yards.

He was dead center for windage, just a bit high for range. The main issue is this scenario is mainly nerves, which is prob why his range was 4-5 inches high, prob jerked on the trigger a little or his rifle was ranged for 300-400 yards. Can't say I haven't whiffed it worse while hunting at that distance, and I wasn't in immediate danger of being arrested or killed by a game warden or anything.

Imo a real decent shot for most shooters with a bit of experience when considering the circumstances. Adrenaline is a real big factor when it comes to accuracy, really fucks with your fine motor skills.

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[–] ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 18 points 1 week ago (3 children)

To be fair, USAians don't know what a meter is

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[–] Chana@hexbear.net 105 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

He got shot at a distance. There is literally no other information. wtf they mean, "professional sniper"?

Loser on camera cited this logic:

  • One shot and he dead.
  • 200 meters.
  • They got away.

All of which is compatible with it just being someone who has practiced with a long range rifle, like a .308 hunting rifle, which I bet includes a very large percentage of people in Utah. And someone who decided to not get caught. It's not like it's that difficult, just move fast, cover your face, and enter your vehicle away from cameras. Cops and security are incredibly incompetent, all they know how to do is shoot minorities and people in crisis and shit themselves when an acorn drops in their vicinity.

[–] FedPosterman5000@hexbear.net 36 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Yeah idk either - especially with this event receiving so much media attention locally. It’s not like he gets presidential level security, so it wouldn’t be the most difficult thing in the world for a shooter to scout locations, and then either alone or with accomplices, ditch the weapon, change clothes, ditch the scene, etc. Maybe a higher profile grifter would’ve had security secure locations with open sight lines to a reasonable distance; but Kirk basically made himself a sitting duck in a state with a shitton of hunters and open carry 🤷

not to mention Kirk has an incredibly punchable face (assuming this translates to other actions) - so it literally may have been the first time the shooter ever heard of Kirk and it was a coincidence too.

[–] ALoafOfBread@lemmy.ml 22 points 1 week ago

He also had an extremely tiny face, so the shooter may easily have hit the neck but been aiming for his head.

[–] Wolfman86@hexbear.net 19 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I think all this "professional sniper" bollocks is because they're scared of criticism, but I'm only very vaguely aware of the person shot.

[–] Flinch@hexbear.net 90 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (7 children)

calling my shot now: Charlie was killed by a Mossad sniper as a sacrifice to pull attention away from the Epstein birthday book stuff, and to rile up the right wing base for further violence against the left

my very very circumstantial evidence: one very accurate single shot from a confident shooter from 200 yards away, someone who clearly knew their weapon and knew how to make a clean getaway, either alone or with help. Netanyahu's tweets regarding the shooting, ~~which took place in the early morning hours in Palestine time, around 1-3am~~ (my math is wrong on this one). Up until a few weeks ago, Chuck wanted the Epstein files released. He walked this one back but it might not have been enough to save him.

come back to me in 20 years when this all comes to light and tell me I was right.

[–] very_poggers_gay@hexbear.net 36 points 1 week ago

I’m trying not to conspire, but wow was this a great way to wipe the headlines clean of all talk about Israel bombing Qatar - it seemed like Israel was getting more flak from the bourgeois media for that than attacking Iran

[–] MolotovHalfEmpty@hexbear.net 33 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I'm not wholly convinced by this, but if this was the case Kirk makes a sensible target.

He's always at massive events with little serious security, it ties into Israeli fears of violence on campuses, his a high profile pundit but not really an 'activist' in any kind of essential role for the MAGA/international fascist project.

But most of all, while still being a pro-Israel ghoul, he's been pissing off Israeli hardliners the last month or so. He stated that some of the crackdowns on any anti-Israel sentiment go too far and risk his sacred 'free speech'. He was entertaining the idea publicly that Epstein was being run by Mossad. He's been on Megan Kelly's show and others to talk about how the Israeli hardliners on the right are going too far in attacking him, pushing people like him away, saying they're overly paranoid etc. Apart from getting some ultra-hardcore-zionist backlash on social media for that there's been a couple of critical articles of him in places like The Times of Israel in recent months too.

So if Israel or someone associated with it we're going to pick an 'ally' to use for something like that, he'd be a good choice.

[–] SkingradGuard@hexbear.net 18 points 1 week ago

I think they'll pin this on a fall guy that fits their narrative.

[–] purpleworm@hexbear.net 15 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

his a high profile pundit but not really an 'activist' in any kind of essential role for the MAGA

I disagree on this. He was basically the biggest "independent" media voice among those that are tied to MAGA at the hip, hence the famous "I trust my friends in the government [Trump's White House]" for why he was swearing off the Epstein stuff.

I think the violence on campuses thing is also a stretch here, but otherwise I agree. Nonetheless, I think Shapiro is a better target in every respect other than being the Israel hardliner of the online left, including being Jewish so the attack could be spun as "antisemitism," so I think if it was on the initiative of the White House and not Mossad, he's a much better target.

[–] Evilphd666@hexbear.net 28 points 1 week ago

We also have Trump's ukkkraine attempted assassin going on trial today.

And ukkkraine wants to be the next isntrael.

[–] NuraShiny@hexbear.net 26 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

Not to rain on your theory, but your math is indeed wrong.

Europe is at minimum 5 hours ahead of the US in Portugal, 6 in central Europe and then 7 in Palestine. Utah is 2 hours away from the East Coast. Charlie got shot at around noon Utah time making that, like 9pm local time for Netanyahu, prime posting hours.

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[–] spectre@hexbear.net 26 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Is it true that Kirk was originally Trump-skeptical during the latest round of Epstein stuff before saying "actually I trust the government"?

[–] UmbraVivi@hexbear.net 23 points 1 week ago (4 children)

Kinda but not really. Charlie Kirk was the kind of grifter who doesn't believe in much of anything, he will say whatever benefits him the most at any given moment. Right-wing audiences generally aren't happy with how Trump is handling the Epstein stuff, and there's a noticeable rift in right-wing influencers between those who tow the government line no matter what (Ben Shapiro, Charlie Kirk, Tim Pool) and those who say what their audience wants to hear (Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens). Outside of Epstein, this is also very noticeable when it comes to Israel.

Kirk got yelled at by his audience when he first tried to defend Trump from the latest Epstein news so he caved a little until, if I recall correctly, he got a direct phone call from Trump himself and fell back in line. I don't think his personal beliefs factored in anywhere. There are right-wing influencers who genuinely believe what they say, but Kirk wasn't one of them.

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[–] TankieTanuki@hexbear.net 16 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (4 children)
[–] purpleworm@hexbear.net 21 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (4 children)

It's worth considering, but security personnel do sometimes have hand signals as normal operating procedure for a litany of reasons, like not cluttering comms, not creating undesired noise (he was right next to Kirk who was speaking in public and taking questions), not competing with ambient noise, and being understood over distance without needing to again cause one of the aforementioned problems. Most security people are going to be formerly military or police, where such signals are commonly used (or at least taught, in the case of cops). It's also part of the "operate" aesthetic that those piggies love.

While it narratively looks right to have a dude signal for the attack right next to the target, like Judas betraying Jesus by kissing him, I don't think there's really all that much reason for there to be signals down to a "fire now" from someone right next to Kirk when the event is highly public, has many uncontrolled cameras on it, Kirk mostly isn't really moving during the presentation anyway (he was sitting down), and we don't have reason to think that exact moment is an especially good time compared to 30 seconds earlier or later, plus the dude was not trying to conceal the gestures at all. It would be absurd for someone to blatantly produce a hand gesture that was covertly to tell the shooter to fire when he was so close to Kirk and therefore sure to be caught on camera like he was.

Overall, I think it's extremely unlikely, though again it's a question worth asking. I agree with the other commenter that being startled isn't a strike against the theory, but there are too many other factors against it.

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[–] Crucible@hexbear.net 75 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This is just the first assassination since we started telling people to get some range time in before they go adventurizing

[–] purpleworm@hexbear.net 56 points 1 week ago (1 children)
[–] Le_Wokisme@hexbear.net 18 points 1 week ago (6 children)

ended up not mattering but the thing where his gun didn't cycle because of the extra weight hanging off the barrel is also a solved problem with several options: use a different kind of handgun where the barrel doesn't need to move, use a little "booster" doohickey so the action doesn't have to move the whole mass of the suppressor to cycle, or tune all the working parts to account for the suppressor (and then don't shoot the thing unsuppressed because it'll have too much gas)

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[–] ZeroHora@lemmy.ml 74 points 1 week ago

As someone who played a lot of sniper games I can confidently say this is bullshit.

A professional sniper would aim for the balls for the humiliation.

[–] Horse@lemmygrad.ml 66 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (2 children)

average am*rican is such a bad shot that anyone hitting anything beyond point blank must be a tier 1 operator

[–] vegeta1@hexbear.net 39 points 1 week ago (2 children)

You mean being a bloodthirsty, no scope shots and calling people the N word on CoD doesn't translate to being a great shot in real life? Unreal

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[–] stink@lemmygrad.ml 29 points 1 week ago

The shooter was Chris Kyle reincarnated, which is why he shot kirk in the neck, he practiced his shooting on children who have smaller bodies

[–] anarchoilluminati@hexbear.net 48 points 1 week ago

Body language expert weighs in, "Charlie Kirk displayed signs of being dead at time of assassination."

[–] BadTakesHaver@hexbear.net 37 points 1 week ago (2 children)

"no it was definitely the radical left trust me"

[–] Evilphd666@hexbear.net 29 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Also the radical left hates guns and wants to take away your guns,

[–] PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml 24 points 1 week ago (1 children)

I mean i would certainly like to take their guns.

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[–] sisatici@hexbear.net 33 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Wait, how does a "security expert" know hallmarks of a professional sniper? Hmmmmmm

[–] Buptendo@hexbear.net 33 points 1 week ago

Yeah yeah yeah 🙄

Quite honestly anyone can practice and learn how to shoot a gun. There are tutorials online

[–] Ecoleo@hexbear.net 21 points 1 week ago

That "security team" needed Balboni and Tommy Toughknuckles down their to run their shit!

[–] Collatz_problem@hexbear.net 20 points 1 week ago

the-deserter - "Think of it as a form of critique."

[–] communism@lemmy.ml 20 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Well thank you to whichever rich person paid off an assassin

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[–] durduramayacaklar@lemmygrad.ml 19 points 1 week ago (4 children)

It was obvious. He shots from the neck to a painful death instead of a headshot an instant death.

[–] sisatici@hexbear.net 59 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Headshot is less likely to kill him lol

[–] PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml 37 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Shooter must have aimed for the face, no wonder he missed.

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[–] TankieTanuki@hexbear.net 18 points 1 week ago (5 children)

Did he really stay conscious long enough to feel pain?

[–] Justice@lemmygrad.ml 21 points 1 week ago (5 children)

Nah. You can see in the video (which is obviously incredibly graphic and I wouldn't recommend anyone watch) he immediately passes out. The shot effectively ripped open his carotid artery causing his head to dump blood and his heart to pump out all of his blood. He was passed out within one or two seconds. I'd suspect dead in under a minute due to no oxygen to the brain.

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[–] GenderIsOpSec@hexbear.net 20 points 1 week ago (2 children)

realistically probably not, there was a lot of blood like 2 seconds after the shot sicko-wistful

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Most likely not, with this amount of blood he must have lost consciousness before shock passed.

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[–] Evilphd666@hexbear.net 16 points 1 week ago

What a compliment. mao-clap

[–] LangleyDominos@hexbear.net 16 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Alleged weapon found at scene (given by NY Post)

Mauser M18 .30-06 bolt action. Nothing exotic. You can get one at a sporting goods store. I'm going to go with the user not gauging the distance and they were aiming for his temple but it dropped to his neck. If they zeroed it in for 200m, it shouldn't have dropped that much.

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