Sergeant Nicholas Ranstad, who the Daily Mail has dubbed “one of America’s greatest-ever snipers,” has revealed how he believes Charlie Kirk could have been killed after carefully noting that he believes the political commentator was “dead on the spot” after impact.
Ranstad broke down the tragic shooting to the outlet minute by minute, highlighting “hidden details he spotted” that suggest a more powerful rifle than an AR-15 was used.
“’It sounded like a high-powered rifle, possibly bolt action,” Ranstad said of the firearm. “I heard the crack and saw him shot so I’m thinking long rifle.”
“I don’t think it is that far of a shot for a high-powered rifle. I think it was maybe a 308 bolt action, or 762.”
The ex-Delta commando described the Turning Point USA event that was held at Utah Valley University as a “buffet feast” for any shooter.
He noted that “security was super light,” suggesting “the threat was low apparently.”
“Any bloke can go to the range three or four times and make that shot,” Ranstad told the Daily Mail. “I would start looking at range time if I was police.”
“They should get all the videos, who’s got what rifle and who isn’t properly trained so don’t know how to control their blood pressure and adrenaline,” he added.
“They’re probably just an internet shooter, not a sniper or trained soldier.”
Ranstad implied that the shooter had made a mistake. He said the shooter “was probably aiming for the head but didn’t take into consideration the wind and the bullet pulled a bit.”
“He didn’t take into consideration the drop or angle by the looks,” adding, “[Kirk] getting shot in the neck means I think he went for the head, but his adrenaline would have been going crazy, probably got a trigger pull.”
Ranstad added: “I think he was right handed from the videos, so probably had a bad trigger pull.”
The ex-Delta commando emphasized that because the killer has still not been apprehended, “he probably had an exfil plan.”
“Normally it’s crazy people who shoot 30 rounds. This was one shot, that was it,” Ranstad said.
“In my opinion they had a plan. If you think about it, one shot, he’s not caught… when I saw the old dude I knew it wasn’t him,” he told the Daily Mail.
President Donald Trump addressed the assassination of Kirk from the Oval Office Wednesday night, calling the MAGA legend “a man of deep faith.”
“For years, the radical left has compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis,” Trump continued.
“This type of language is directly responsible for the terrorism we’re seeing in our country today.”
X users highlighted in the aftermath of the tragedy that Kirk had warned of “assassination culture,” a growing left-wing appetite for violence months before he was killed.
Kirk posted back in April, “Assassination culture is spreading on the left.”
“Forty-eight percent of liberals say it would be at least somewhat justified to murder Elon Musk. Fifty-five percent said the same about Donald Trump,” the now-eerie post continued.
Kirk’s viral X post referred to a report from Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) which polled Americans on their attitudes towards assassination.
