Conservative activist and Trump ally Charlie Kirk killed at Utah college event

Public Lokpal
September 11, 2025

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Conservative activist and Trump ally Charlie Kirk killed at Utah college event

Washington: Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot and killed Wednesday at a Utah college event in an act that the state's governor called a “political assassination.”

A “person of interest” was in custody Wednesday evening, said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, though no charges were immediately announced.

Utah authorities said the shooter wore dark clothing and fired from a roof on campus some distance away.

The death was announced on social media by Trump, who praised the 31-year-old Kirk, the co-founder and CEO of the youth organization Turning Point USA, as “Great, and even Legendary.”

“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account.

The suspected shooter has not been arrested, Orem, Utah, Mayor David Young said. A person who was taken into custody by law enforcement at the university where Kirk was speaking was not the suspect, according to a person familiar with the investigation who was not authorised to speak publicly.

A single shot rings out and Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as a large volume of 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.

Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political organization. Immediately before the shooting, Kirk was taking questions for an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence.

Utah Valley University said the campus was immediately evacuated and remained closed. Classes were cancelled until further notice.

Those still on campus were asked to stay in place until police officers could safely escort them off campus. Armed officers walked around the neighbourhood bordering the campus, knocking on doors and asking for information on the shooter.

Officers have been seen looking at a photo on their phones and showing it to people to see if they recognize a person of interest.

Though no motive has been disclosed, the circumstances of the shooting fuelled concerns that it was part of a spike of political violence that has cut across the political spectrum.

The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade to demand Hamas release hostages, and a fire set at the house of Pennsylvania's governor, who is Jewish, in April. The most notorious of these events is the shooting of Trump during a campaign rally last year.

AP