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An Adelaide teacher allegedly dressed up as slain US conservative activist Charlie Kirk for a school Halloween event, in an incident described by the school's principal as "completely unacceptable". In a statement issued by South Australia's Education Department, the principal of Urrbrae Agricultural High said the incident occurred at an event last Friday and that the teacher had subsequently been "directed away from the school". The principal, Todd George, also said he had apologised to parents about the teacher's costume. "On Friday a teacher made the completely unacceptable decision to dress as Charlie Kirk as part of a Halloween event with staff at the school," Mr George said. "He remains away while an investigation is undertaken." Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University in September, while taking questions from a crowd of students during a college campus tour. While neither the school nor the department commented on specific details around the costume, a parent has told the ABC it appeared to involve fake blood and a fake bullet wound on the neck. The principal said the teacher was immediately told to "cover up" the costume. "I have apologised to parents and reiterated this was totally unacceptable," Mr George said. "As soon as I became aware of this, the staff member was immediately instructed to cover up the outfit and has been directed away from the school. "We have also addressed this matter with students who were aware of the outfit, and have provided wellbeing support." Parent defends 'really loved' teacher Urrbrae parent Kristy Dickson told the ABC she had seen a picture of the costume and understood why it was considered offensive, but said she also felt the incident had been "blown out of proportion". "My daughter came home from school and was saying how her teacher had dressed as Charlie Kirk with the white shirt with 'Freedom' written on it," she said. "It barely had any blood anywhere and he had a little fake wound on his neck. "It was very hard to tell." She said neither her daughter, who had seen the teacher wearing the costume, nor her daughter's friends "thought that it was inappropriate", and Ms Dickson added that Halloween costumes were often in bad taste. "Of course it would have offended some people, which I totally understand," she said. "[Charlie Kirk] was a man who was gunned down." But she said she did not want the teacher to face lasting consequences over "one incident that he obviously didn't think through". "He is really loved — he is a very good teacher," she said. "As soon as he was approached — I'm assuming by the principal — he did get changed. "We're all human, we do all make mistakes. "I think if he gets stood down completely from our school, it would be a disservice to our school."
