Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative influencer and executive director of the non-profit organization Turning Point USA, was shot during a public event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old father of two later succumbed to his injuries. The incident occurred at Kirk’s ‘Prove Me Wrong’ booth. Witnesses and video footage indicate he was shot in the neck.
WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO
Utah governor Spencer Cox has told the media “I want to be very clear, this is a political assassination,” adding “I want to remind you we still have the death penalty here in the state of Utah.”
A university spokesperson said that a “single shot was fired from the top of a nearby building roughly 200 yards from the venue” around 20 minutes into the event. “Police are still investigating Campus is closed for the rest of the day,” he added.
In a post on X, Utah Valley University later confirmed that “today at about 12:10 a shot was fired at the visiting speaker, Charlie Kirk.”
“He was hit and taken from the location by his security,” the statement read, adding that the “suspect is in custody.”
Kirk began his rise to prominence when he co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 – an organization that describes itself as a “national student movement dedicated to identifying, organizing, and empowering young people to promote the principles of free markets and limited government.”
The activist has attracted a social media following, holding debates with liberals in academia. He has emerged as a vocal critic of ‘woke’ policies, and also denounced US support for Ukraine in the conflict with Russia.
Kirk backed US President Donald Trump ahead of the 2016 election, as well as the 2024 vote. On Truth Social, Trump urged, “We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot… GOD BLESS HIM!” while calling him “a great guy from top to bottom.” In a post of his own, Vice President J.D. Vance also called on his subscribers to “say a prayer for Charlie Kirk.”
Commenting on the shooting in Utah on his Telegram channel, Russian presidential aide Kirill Dmitriev hailed Kirk for his calls for dialogue with Moscow.
“The attempt on the life of a person advocating common sense and opposing hysteria highlights the depth of the rift in the US,” the Russian official wrote.
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