Oxford Union president celebrates shooting that killed Charlie Kirk

George Abaraonye, incoming president of Oxford Union, celebrated the shooting in which conservative activist Charlie Kirk, with whom he had debated months earlier, was killed.

Abaraonye made several comments on social media in which he celebrated the attack on the conservative activist. The posts were picked up by The Telegraph. In one, he wrote: "Charlie Kirk got shot, let’s f****** go," a common celebratory phrase among Generation Z.

In another message, Abaraonye directly mocked what happened. "Charlie Kirk got shot loool," he said. In addition, he was known to have shared other messages on a WhatsApp group for Oxford Union members. However, at least one of his messages was soon deleted.

The messages drew backlash responses on the WhatsApp group, which is believed to be intended primarily for newcomers.

Abaraonye's comment comes just months after meeting Kirk and debating him at an event at the Oxford Union held in May. At that debate, on "toxic masculinity," Kirk asked the young man to reflect on the discussion.

"My reaction was shaped by the context of Mr. Kirk’s own rhetoric"

After The Telegraph released the messages, a statement was released in which George Abaraonye apologized for the comments. He claimed he decided to delete the messages when he learned that Kirk had died.

"Last night I received the shocking news about a shooting at Charlie Kirk’s event. In that moment of shock, I reacted impulsively and made comments prior to Charlie being pronounced dead that I quickly deleted upon learning of his passing. Those words did not reflect my values," Abaraonye wrote in the statement shared by outlets such as The Oxford Student and The Guardian.

However, the leftist insisted on blaming Kirk's ideas for his reaction. He also emphasized that, at the time, the shooting struck him as "a painful irony."

"My reaction was shaped by the context of Mr. Kirk’s own rhetoric. … He justified the killing of civilians in Gaza, including women and children, by blaming them collectively for Hamas. He called for the retraction of the Civil Rights Act, and repeatedly spread harmful stereotypes about LGBTQ and trans communities. These were horrific and dehumani[z]ing statements," Abaraonye said.

Meanwhile, the Oxford Union rejected Abaraonye's comments. "His reported views do not represent the Oxford Union’s current leadership or committee’s view," the society said in a statement posted on Instagram.