Charlie Kirk, a conservative political activist and media personality, was fatally shot during a public event at a university in Utah on Wednesday.
Kirk, 31, was speaking under a white tent on the campus of Utah Valley University when the gunfire erupted shortly after noon. Video posted to social media showed Kirk holding a handheld microphone and taking questions from the audience when a single shot rang out.
After gunfire was heard, Kirk reached for his neck as a gush of blood streamed down his shirt before collapsing. Spectators screamed and ran for safety.
Kirk was taken to a hospital in critical condition and later pronounced dead, a law enforcement official told the Associated Press.
President Donald Trump confirmed Kirk’s death in a post on Truth Social.
“He was loved and admired by all, especially me, and now he is no longer with us.” Trump wrote.
Trump later ordered flags lowered to half-staff and issued a presidential proclamation honoring Kirk.
University officials initially said a suspected shooter had been taken into custody, but retracted the statement Wednesday evening. Orem Mayor David Young said a person widely seen in social media videos being detained by campus security was not the shooting suspect. Officers have been canvassing the neighborhood surrounding the campus, showing residents a photo of a person of interest.
The event had sparked controversy before Kirk’s arrival. An online petition urging the university to bar him from speaking garnered nearly 1,000 signatures. Administrators defended his appearance on First Amendment grounds, citing a “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.”
Kirk was a polarizing but influential figure in American conservative politics. As the co-founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, he built one of the largest youth-oriented political organizations in the country and played a prominent role in mobilizing young conservatives during the 2024 presidential election.
His self-titled podcast, distributed by Salem Media Group, regularly ranks among the most-popular in the country.
Condemnations of the attack came from across the political spectrum.
“The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible,” California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter.
