Prominent conservative pundit and media personality Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during a visit to Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
Kirk, who was a supporter of US President Donald Trump, was CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA.
Trump posted on Truth Social after news of the shooting broke that “we must all pray for Charlie Kirk … a great guy from top to bottom.”
Trump later posted on the platform that 31-year-old Kirk had died, after spokesman Andrew Kolvet confirmed the death.
A university spokesperson told NBC News that Kirk was speaking at an event when a single shot was fired, adding he “was hit and taken with his security team away from the premises.”
The university had initially said a suspect was in custody, but later said the person detained was not actually the shooter.
David Young, the mayor of Orem, Utah, has said the suspect in remains at large.
The initial statement from the university said a shot was fired from a nearby building.
Video of the event circulating on social media and verified by the Associated Press shows Kirk speaking under a white tent when a loud crack can be heard, after which Kirk grabs his neck, with blood seen pouring from a wound.
Various news agencies reported that Kirk was rushed to a hospital after the shooting.
FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X that “agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation.”
Kirk rose to prominence as a conservative teenage activist stirring up political debate on college campuses with right-wing talking points on gun rights, abortion, immigration and religion.
Kirk’s conservative youth organization Turning Point USA became a force in grassroots politics. It turned into the largest conservative youth organization in the US.
Turning Point played a role in helping galvanize voters in his home state of Arizona during Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. Kirk also appeared at Trump’s inauguration.
“No one understood or had the heart of the youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by all, especially me,” Trump posted shortly after Kirk’s death.
His event at Utah Valley University was the first stop on what was dubbed the “American Comeback Tour,” during which he was fielding questions from the audience sitting at a table adorned with Trump campaign hats, under a banner reading “Prove Me Wrong.”
The moment before Kirk was fatally wounded, he had been responding to a question about gun violence in the US.
Kirk was married to podcaster Erika Frantzve and had two young children. – DW.
