Charlie Kirk, a well-known conservative activist in the United States and staunch ally of President Donald Trump, was shot dead at an event at Utah Valley University.
Kirk briefly clutches his neck before collapsing from his chair, sending attendees fleeing. He was 31 years old.
Here is what we know:
What happened?
Kirk was on a speaking tour, and his stop at Utah Valley University was the first of at least 15 scheduled events at universities around the country as part of his “American Comeback Tour”.
Before the shooting, he was seated at his “Prove Me Wrong” debating table, taking questions from an audience outdoors.
Videos show that Kirk was going back and forth with a student about mass shootings and transgender people when he was shot.
“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” Kirk was asked.
“Too many,” Kirk responded as the crowd clapped.
“Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?” To which Kirk replied, “Counting or not counting gang violence?”
Seconds later, Kirk could be seen struck in the neck as he falls from his chair.
In video footage from the event, it can be seen how Kirk moved his hand towards his neck as he fell off his chair, sending the attendees running. In another clip, blood can be seen gushing from his neck immediately after the shot.
No one else was shot during the event.
Kirk’s wife and children were present during the incident.
Where did the shooting happen?
The shooting took place in the courtyard at Utah Valley University (UVU), located about 64km (40 miles) south of Salt Lake City.
A spokeswoman for the university said Kirk was hit by a shot fired from the roof of the school’s Losee Center, a campus building about 91-183 metres (100-200 yards) from the event area.
It was not clear whether the shot was fired from a rooftop or an open window.
Founded in 1941 as a vocational school for war production training, the university enrolled more than 46,800 students in fall 2023.
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Who was Charlie Kirk?
Charlie Kirk was one of the most prominent conservative activists and media personalities in the US, and a trusted ally of President Trump.
He co-founded Turning Point USA, a nonprofit conservative advocacy group, when he was just 18.
Kirk’s group grew into the country’s largest conservative youth movement, and over the years, he became a central player in a network of pro-Trump influencers, often described as the face of the “Make America Great Again” movement.
Trump often credited Kirk with bringing many young voters and voters of colour over to his side during the 2024 presidential campaign.
He was also a sharp critic of mainstream media and threw himself into culture-war battles over race, gender and immigration.
His provocative style won him a loyal support base but also fierce opposition.
Kirk also became a close friend of the president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, and the two travelled together to Greenland in January. He also emerged as an early supporter of Vice President JD Vance as Trump was deciding whether the senator would be his running mate.
Kirk had 5.5 million followers on the platform X and hosted The Charlie Kirk Show, a podcast and radio programme that reached more than 500,000 listeners each month. He made regular appearances on Fox News, including a recent guest co-hosting slot on Fox & Friends.
According to a report by The New York Times, Kirk never pursued a role within the administration. His aim was to reshape the Republican Party and, more broadly, American politics.
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“We want to transform the culture,” he told The New York Times Magazine in February.
Kirk also built a fortune through his popular podcast, frequent speaking engagements and books, including his 2020 bestseller, The MAGA Doctrine.
On social media, he posted constantly, offering a right-wing perspective on a plethora of issues.
In response to the fatal, unprovoked stabbing of a white woman by a Black man, Kirk posted this on X on Tuesday:
What do we know about the shooter?
There was confusion about whether a suspect was in custody.
A “person of interest” was in custody on Wednesday evening, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said, though no charges were immediately announced.
Later, the Utah Police Department said that two people had been considered suspects, but they were released after officials found they had no links to the shooting.
Beau Mason, the head of the Utah Department of Public Safety, said a suspect was described as being dressed in all-dark clothing.
He said one shot was fired in the fatal attack.
Six officers were working the event, and there were more than 3,000 people in attendance, according to Jeff Long, chief of the Utah Valley University police department.
Kirk also had a private security team with him.
“This is a dark day for our state. It’s a tragic day for our nation,” Utah Governor Cox said.
“I want to be very clear that this is a political assassination.”
What’s the latest on the ground?
Currently, the campus is closed, according to the university, and it will remain closed from September 11 to 14.
“On behalf of Utah Valley University, we are shocked and saddened by the tragic passing of Charlie Kirk, a guest to our campus. Our hearts go out to his family,” the university said.
The University said that while an investigation remains ongoing, there is no continuing threat to the campus.
How has Trump responded?
The US president described the killing as a “dark, dark, moment for America”. Trump ordered all American flags to be lowered to half-staff until Sunday evening, in honour of Kirk.
He also recorded a video from the White House that was both an ode to Kirk and an angry criticism of liberals, whose rhetoric he blamed for Kirk’s assassination.
“I am filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah,” Trump said. “Charlie inspired millions and tonight, all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror. Charlie was a patriot who devoted his life to open debate and the country he loved so much, the United States of America.”
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Trump said it was “long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonising those with whom you disagree day after day, year after year, in the most despicable way possible.”
He accused the “radical left” of comparing “wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals.”
“This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we are seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now”.
How have others responded?
Democrats and Republicans quickly denounced the shooting on social media and in Congress.
“There is no place” for this violence, former US President Joe Biden said on X.
Vice President JD Vance also reacted:
First Lady Melania Trump also paid tribute to Kirk.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said in a Fox News interview that the shooter should face the death penalty.
“I’m very angry,” DeSantis said.
“Obviously, they’ve got to catch this guy. We need a very quick death penalty prosecution. I don’t want to see this take forever. We need justice for this,” he said.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had invited Kirk to Israel just two weeks earlier, describing the 31-year-old as a “lion-hearted friend of Israel”.
Kirill Dmitriev, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s investment envoy, posted on Telegram: “There was an attack on Charlie Kirk, one of the most ardent conservative leaders known for his positive statements about Russia and his calls for dialogue.”
Barack Obama, former US president, said that “despicable violence has no place in our democracy.”
Source: Al Jazeera
