Conservative activist Charlie Kirk (right) was fatally shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University (left) and a suspect (center) is in custody (Picture: Reuters)
President Donald Trump has confirmed that a young,influential right-wing activist who helped reelect him was fatally shot.
Charlie Kirk,31,who co-founded the youth organization Turning Point USA,was shot in the neck while speaking with students at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday.
‘The Great,and even Legendary,Charlie Kirk,is dead,’ wrote Trump on his Truth Social platform at 4.40pm.
Follow our live blog for the latest updates on the manhunt for Charlie Kirk’s shooter
‘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,and now,he is no longer with us.
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk (right),who helped President Donald Trump (left) win the 2024 election,has reportedly been shot (Picture: Getty Images)
‘Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika,and family.
‘Charlie,we love you!’
Vice President JD Vance wrote on X: ‘Eternal rest grant unto him,O Lord.’
Kirk’s death was also confirmed by his spokesman,Andrew Kolvet.
President Donald Trump announced that Charlie Kirk died in a Truth Social post (Picture: Truth Social/@realDonaldTrump)
Trump announced that flags would be lowered to half staff.
‘In honor of Charlie Kirk,a truly Great American Patriot,I am ordering all American Flags throughout the United States lowered to Half Mast until Sunday evening at 6 P.M.,’ he wrote on Truth Social.
FBI Director Kash Patel around 6.30pm said that the ‘subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody’.
Patel did not provide additional details on the suspect.
Charlie Kirk (middle) was killed at the age of 31 (Picture: Instagram/@charliekirk1776)
Shortly afterward,Republican Governor Spencer Cox said a ‘person of interest’ was being interviewed and that an investigation is underway to ‘find this killer’.
‘This is a dark day for our state. It’s a tragic day for our nation,’ said Cox.
‘I want to be very clear this is a political assassination.’
Utah authorities said that the shooter donned dark clothing and shot from a roof on campus from a distance away.
Members of the US Secret Service counter sniper team walk onto the roof of the White House after the American flag at the White House in Washington,was lowered to half-staff to honor Charlie Kirk (Picture: AP)
House Speaker Mike Johnson had announced a moment of silence for Kirk in Congress.
‘We ask everyone to pray for him and his family,’ Johnson told reporters.
‘This is detestable what’s happened. Political violence has become all too common in American society.’
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer offered his condolences to the Kirk family.
Sir Keir Starmer mourned the death of Charlie Kirk in an X post (Picture: X/@Keir_Starmer)
‘My thoughts this evening are with the loved ones of Charlie Kirk,’ he wrote on X.
‘It is heartbreaking that a young family has been robbed of a father and a husband.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox (left) speaks with Utah Valley University Chief of Police Jeff Long (right) at the Keller Building on the Utah Valley University campus after Charlie Kirk was shot and died (Picture: AP)‘It appears the shooter was on the roof,’ wrote Hardman.Kirk was hit with a bullet around 12.10pm and ‘taken from the location by his security’,stated the university on X.A university alert to students stated that ‘a single shot was fired on campus toward a visiting speaker’.Kirk’s spokesman initially stated that he ‘has been shot at Utah Valley University. Condition unknown.’‘A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!’Trump then told the New York Post that Kirk is ‘not doing well… yes,it looks very bad’.‘He was a very,very good friend of mine and he was a tremendous person,’ Trump added.The president said he was feeling ‘not good’ about the shooting.
A crowd of students gathered to watch Charlie Kirk speak at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday (Picture: X)Vance wrote on X: ‘I am tracking the situation at Utah Valley University closely. Please join me in praying for Charlie Kirk and the students gathered there.’Senator Mike Lee said he was also tracking the situation closely.‘Please join me in praying for Charlie Kirk and the students gathered there,’ he wrote on X.Democrats also condemned the shooting.
Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk spoke on the first day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum on July 15,2024,in Milwaukee,Wisconsin (Picture: Getty Images)Former President Joe Biden wrote on X that he and his wife were ‘praying for Charlie Kirk’s family and loved ones’.‘There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now,’ he said.Ex-President Barack Obama wrote: ‘We don’t yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk,but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy.‘Michelle and I will be praying for Charlie’s family tonight,especially his wife Erika and their two young children.’
Former President Barack Obama called Charlie Kirk’s killing ‘despicable’. (Picture: X/@BarackObama)California Governor Gavin Newsom,a longtime rival of Trump,called the attack on Kirk ‘disgusting,vile,and reprehensible’.‘In the United States of America,we must reject political violence in EVERY form,’ Newsom wrote on X.KUTV journalist Heidi Hatch wrote on X that her son was near the stage and was preparing to debate Kirk when ‘he said there was one loud gunshot and Kirk’s head flew back’.‘Kids started screaming and running,’ Hatch reported,adding that her son was safe in his apartment.
Charlie Kirk (right),president and founder of Turning Point USA,and President Donald Trump (left) during a Turning Point USA Student Action Summit in Washington,DC,in 2019 (Picture: Getty Images)The Deseret News initially reported that the suspect was an older man. Photos from the scene showed police officers escorting a partially bald man wearing a button-down shirt and shorts and holding him to the ground. He was later determined not to be the shooter.Kirk spoke at the 2024 Republican National Convention in July days after Trump survived an assassination attempt.Turning Point USA,a nonprofit formed in 2012,has a presence in 3,500 campuses and is the ‘largest and fastest-growing youth organization in America’,according to its website.‘Since its founding,Turning Point USA has embarked on a mission to build the most organized,active,and powerful conservative grassroots activist network on high school and college campuses across the country,’ it states.
People run after a shot was fired at U.S. right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk during a Utah Valley University speaking event in Orem,Utah (Picture: Reuters)On his The American Comeback Tour,Kirk was hosting a ‘prove me wrong’ table for attendees to debate him.An online petition urging university administrators to block Kirk from speaking on campus had received almost 1,000 signatures. More than 3,000 people attended Kirk’s event.The university last week cited the First Amendment and reinstated its ‘commitment to free speech,intellectual inquiry,and constructive dialogue’.University police chief Jeff Long said his department was in coordination with Kirk’s security team and tried to get ‘bases covered’ but ‘unfortunately today we didn’t,and because of that we have this tragic incident’.
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