Charlie Kirk, an American right-wing personality, co-founder of Turning Point USA and close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was shot and killed at a college event at Utah Valley University.
He was 31.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. 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. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!” wrote Trump on Truth Social.
Kirk’s spokesperson, Andrew Kolvet, also confirmed his death to the New York Times.
Videos posted on social media from Utah Valley University showed Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong.”
Charlie Kirk speaks during a town hall meeting on March 17, 2025, in Oconomowoc, Wis.
AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps, FileA single shot rings out, and Kirk can be seen recoiling as blood gushes from the left side of his neck.
Stunned spectators are heard gasping and screaming before people start to run away.
The AP was able to confirm the videos were taken at Sorensen Center courtyard on the Utah Valley University campus.
The crowd reacts after Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, is shot at the Utah Valley University Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)
(Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)The New York Times reported that university spokeswoman, Ellen Treanor, said that a suspect fired at Kirk from a building about 180 metres away from where he was sitting.
Utah Commissioner of Public Safety Beau Mason said on Wednesday evening that a person of interest was in custody. That person was released a few hours later, FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X.
https://x.com/FBIDirectorKash/status/1965928054712316363
Earlier, another person of interest was eventually found not be the shooter, but was arrested on an obstruction of justice charge.
No further details about the shooter have been released.
Immediately following the shooting, California Governor Gavin Newsom and Senator Bernie Sanders shared their concerns and condolences on social media.
https://x.com/GavinNewsom/status/1965851236630192261
https://x.com/BernieSanders/status/1965867418863235410
Turning Point was founded in suburban Chicago in 2012 by Kirk, then 18, and William Montgomery, a Tea Party activist, to proselytize on college campuses for low taxes and limited government. It was not an immediate success. But Kirk’s zeal for confronting liberals in academia eventually won over an influential set of conservative financiers.
Despite early misgivings, Turning Point enthusiastically backed Trump after he clinched the GOP nomination in 2016. Kirk served as a personal aide to Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, during the general election campaign.
Law enforcement tapes off an area after Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was shot at the Utah Valley University, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. (Tess Croewley/The Deseret News via AP)
(Tess Croewley/The Deseret News via AP)Soon, Kirk was a regular presence on cable TV, where he leaned into the culture wars and heaped praise on the then-president. Trump and his son were equally effusive and often spoke at Turning Point conferences.
— With files from The Associated Press
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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