Colorado radio host fired for wishing for 'nice school shooting' to interrupt 'neverending' Trump impeachment coverage
A radio host from Colorado was fired after he wished for a "nice school shooting" to interrupt the coverage of the impeachment hearings for President Donald Trump on December 18. The host, Chuck Bonniwell, made the comment while appearing on a recording of his show on KNUS 710-AM, called 'Chuck and Julie'.
"You know, you wish for a nice school shooting to interrupt (it)," Bonniwell said to his wife and co-host Julie Hayden. He also claimed that the impeachment process against Trump was "neverending." The host's comments, however, were immediately dismissed by Hayden.
"No, no. Don't even – don't even say that. No, don't even say that," she told Bonniwell during the show. "Don't call us. Chuck didn't say that."
The host later added that he does not wish for anyone to be hurt, a clip of the broadcast obtained by KUSA showed. The video was later removed from the show on December 18.
The network also released a statement on December 18, slamming Bonniwell's comments and announced that his show was being pulled "immediately".
The station, in a tweet, wrote: "Given the history of school violence that has plagued our community, 710 KNUS confirms that an inappropriate comment was made on the 'Chuck & Julie' show by co-host Chuck Bonniwell. A programming decision was made to end the program immediately."
One of the worst school shootings in the US occurred in Colorado in 1999, which resulted in the deaths of 12 students and a teacher at the Columbine High School. Ever since Columbine, the state has been impacted by four other school shootings, with the most recent at the STEM School Highlands Ranch in May this year.
A parent of the student killed in the STEM school shooting, John Castillo, also denounced the comments made by Bonniwell, saying his statement was "unbelievable". "Unbelievable that a radio host would suggest a school shooting to distract from the presidential impeachment," Kendrick Castillo's father stated. President Trump was impeached by the House of Representatives on December 18.