Yesterday was a sad day for the United States. An innocent person attending former president’s rally in Pennsylvania was shot dead and another person was injured by the despicable and cowardice act of a shooter from a distance using an AR-15 rifle. At this point, the goal of the shooter seems to have been to assassinate the former president. While I disagree with pretty much everything that the former president stands for, and I still believe that he is a grave danger for the American democracy, and that he should be held accountable for his actions in the aftermath of 2020 presidential election, I find it absolutely revolting to see him or his supporters at a rally to be subject to violent acts of terror and intimidation, regardless of who initiates and/or performs those acts. We have had enough of violent rhetoric and acts over the last few years, and the American people, including politicians and presidential candidates, deserve better than this.

I know various conspiracy theories are floating around on the Internet, and some supporters of the former president have already started pointing figures at their political rivals without any evidence and supporting facts. But this is a time for every one of us to take a step back, avoid stating inflammatory and baseless opinions or spreading conspiracy theories, and wait for more information about the identity and motives of the shooter. We should also unite in supporting the families of the deceased and injured individuals from the rally.

I don’t mean this as a political statement at this particular moment, but I wish the shooter did not have ready access to such a powerful assault rifle to be able to carry out this cowardice act from such a great distance and cause this tragedy.