By Hannah Webb | Focus Editor & Copy Editor
Following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University Wednesday afternoon, Baylor graduate student AJ Barber posted comments on Instagram that many found distasteful and insensitive.
“This makes me giggle,” the now-deleted comment left by Barber on a KWTX post about Kirk’s death.
Barber responded to comments criticizing his statement on the post.
“Good thing I’m not a Christian,” Barber wrote to a user questioning his position at Baylor.
According to Barber’s LinkedIn, he is a graduate teaching assistant at Baylor. When asked why Baylor allowed him to teach, Barber responded with “my concern, not yours.”
The Baylor community responded in outrage. Rumors flooded social media, including that Barber is an assistant coach for volleyball and track; however, that has been disproven.
Due to the connection to Baylor, the university released a statement.
“We are aware and greatly disappointed by a social media comment from a Baylor graduate student regarding the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk,” the statement read. “To make light of the death of a fellow human being is completely inappropriate and completely counter to Baylor’s Christian mission. Baylor strives to be a community in which every individual is treated with respect — in life and in death.”
The statement goes on to read that “This student does not represent Baylor University in any capacity. He is not a member of the faculty, nor has he been part of the intercollegiate athletics program.”
According to a statement emailed to the families of Midway Middle School, Barber was serving as an intern at the school. He is not a Midway ISD employee.
“As soon as we were alerted, we immediately located the intern, directed him to stop using his phone and coordinated with his Baylor University supervisor to have him removed from being present with students,” Midway Middle School Principal Kayla Brown wrote in the email. “The intern will no longer be student-teaching in Midway ISD.”
Brown assured Midway ISD did not tolerate this action and took actions to prioritize the safety of the students.
Barber has since gone private on Instagram. No further information is available at this time.
