Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) responded Wednesday to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, calling the killing “horrific” and warning that the act risked unleashing a dangerous wave of political chaos if lawmakers failed to act.

“This is horrific. This is awful, and the assassination of Charlie Kirk risks an uncorking of political chaos,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters outside the Capitol. “Are we going to do something, or are we going to argue over rhetoric? That is my question about this. We have to pass gun safety legislation and stop this.”

Kirk, the 31-year-old co-founder of Turning Point USA and a high-profile ally of former President Donald Trump, was gunned down Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University. Police have obtained video footage of the suspect and recovered a rifle believed to have been used in the attack.

Public figures across the political spectrum have denounced the killing. Kirk, who rose to prominence as one of the most vocal champions of Trump’s brand of populist conservatism, was a polarizing figure but also a central one in shaping young conservative activism over the past decade.

For Democrats, the assassination has prompted renewed calls for urgent action on gun violence. In a post on X shortly after the shooting but before Kirk’s death was confirmed, Ocasio-Cortez said the incident underscored the “scourge of gun violence and political violence” that continues to destabilize the country. “The shooting of Charlie Kirk is the latest incident of this chaos and it must stop,” she wrote. “We cannot go down this road. There is no place for it in America.” Republicans, many of whom have been outspoken defenders of gun rights, also condemned the killing.

Standing outside the Capitol, Ocasio-Cortez pressed her colleagues to move past partisan fights and deliver legislation that could prevent further attacks.

“The question before us is whether this Congress is serious about protecting lives and protecting democracy,” she said. “We cannot normalize political assassination. We cannot normalize the gun violence that enables it.”

Kirk’s death marks one of the most high-profile assassinations of a political figure in recent memory.