A screen grab from a video by Jeremy King shows security personnel carrying Kirk after he was shot.Credit: AFP
Witness Justin Hickens told NBC News: “We heard a big loud shot, I saw a bunch of blood come out of Charlie, I saw his body kind of kick back and go limp, and everybody dropped to the ground.”
Local and state authorities were holding a press conference about 4.30pm local time when Patel confirmed a person of interest had been taken into custody.
“The only information we have on the suspect, the possible shooter, is taken from CCTV here on campus,” Utah public safety commissioner Beau Mason said, noting that the quality of the footage was poor but that a suspect dressed in dark clothing had been identified.
“The shot came from here on campus, from a location, potentially from the roof. [It was a] longer distance shot.”
The New York Times reports the shot was fired from the Losee Centre, a building a little less than 200 metres away from the courtyard where Kirk was speaking.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox declined to provide further information on the person of interest, but said they were being interviewed and that there is “no information that would lead us to believe that there is a second person involved”.
A man who was arrested in the immediate aftermath of the shooting was charged with obstruction of justice, but was not involved in the shooting.
Cox characterised the shooting as a “political assassination”.
“This is a dark day for our state, it’s a tragic day for our nation,” he said.
Immediately before the shooting, Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence, AP reported.
“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” an audience member asked. Kirk responded: “Too many.”
Law enforcement tape off an area after the shooting.Credit: AP
The questioner followed up: “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”
“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk asked.
Then a single shot rang out.
Also speaking at the press conference, Utah Valley University police chief Jeff Long said there were six police officers working security at the time of the shooting, as well as Kirk’s private security team that travels with him.
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.Credit: AP
“We had some plainclothes police officers that were in the crowd. We train for these things,” Long said.
“You think you have things covered…you try to get your bases covered. And unfortunately, today we didn’t, and because of that, we had this tragic incident.”
Long estimated that the event was attended by 3000 people. The forum was open to members of the public, with attendees including university students, but also children and families. Witnesses told Fox News there were no security checks on entering the outdoor venue.
In a later post to Truth Social, Trump said he had ordered “all American Flags throughout the United States lowered to Half Mast until Sunday evening at 6 P.M.”
The American flag on the North Lawn at the White House in Washington, is lowered to half-staff.Credit: AP
The flag on the North Lawn of the White House has already been lowered, and a presidential dinner scheduled for tonight has been cancelled.
Vice President J.D. Vance, Attorney-General Pam Bondi, Utah senator Mike Lee and many other politicians called on followers to pray for Kirk. Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives Mike Schultz said violence was unacceptable and had no place in the nation’s politics.
“No disagreement, no matter how deep, justifies an attack like this. What happened is wrong, it is dangerous, and it cannot be tolerated,” he said. “My prayers are with Charlie, his family, and all those affected during this difficult time. We cannot allow hatred and violence to define who we are. We are better than this.”
Former President Joe Biden wrote on X that he and his wife Jill 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.
In a similar message, former vice president and democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris said she was “deeply disturbed by the shooting”.
“Let me be clear: Political violence has no place in America. I condemn this act, and we all must work together to ensure this does not lead to more violence.”
Kirk, 31, founded the conservative political advocacy group Turning Point USA, as well as a political action committee by the same name. He is an evangelical Christian, and the group conducts a lot of its work with Christian communities and students on campus.
Posting a statement to X, a Turning Point USA spokesperson said Kirk had been “murdered by a gunshot”, requesting privacy and dignity for Kirk’s family.
Utah Valley University describes itself as the largest public university in Utah. The campus where Kirk was shot was located in Orem, just south of Salt Lake City.
The event was the first stop on Turning Point USA’s “American Comeback Tour” of college campuses, headlined by Kirk. It featured the “Prove Me Wrong Table”, where audience members were invited to debate Kirk in a public setting.
The event had been met with divided opinions on campus. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1000 signatures. The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue”.
On September 3, Kirk posted screenshots of a series of headlines about the controversy to X, along with the caption: “What is going on in Utah?”
The university said its campus had been closed and all classes were cancelled until further notice. Students were told to leave campus immediately and follow police instructions.
During last year’s election, Kirk appeared with Trump at various rallies, and the Trump campaign outsourced a significant amount of its voter turnout work to Turning Point Action and other groups, rather than using the Republican National Committee.
President Donald Trump shakes hands with Charlie Kirk during a Generation Next White House forum in Washington in 2018.Credit: AP
As the news of Kirk’s death circulated, another shooting in the neighbouring state of Colorado was unfolding.
Three teens, all believed to be students, are in a critical condition after a shooting at a suburban Denver high school.
The shooting took place at the Evergreen High School about 50km west of Denver around midday on Wednesday local time.
