Charlie Kirk, founder of the Organization of Conservative Youth Activists, Turning Point USA, died after he was shot during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, President Donald Trump said.
“The great and even legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump said on social networks. “No one understood or had the heart of young people 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 come out with their beautiful wife Erika and his family. Charlie, we love you!”
The Governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, described the fatal shooting as a “political murder.”
A person of interest is in custody and is currently being questioned, Cox said during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
The law officer works at the University of Utah Valley, where right -wing activist, Charlie Kirk, ally of President Donald Trump, was shot during an event, in OREM, Utah, September 10, 2025.
Jim Urquhart/Reuters
A single shot on the OEM campus was shot at Kirk, a visiting speaker, shortly after noon, the school said.
“He was beaten and taken from the location for his safety,” said the university.
Kirk, 31, was taken to a hospital after receiving a shot, according to Turning Point USA, who said: “With a heavy heart that we confirm that Charles James Kirk has been killed by a shooting of arms” during the campus event.
“We ask everyone to keep their family and loved ones in their prayers,” the organization said.
The Commissioner of the Utah Public Security Department, Beau Mason, described the shooting as a “directed attack” and said the scene is a “very large area.”
Mason said that the “only information” on the possible shooter was taken from CCTV on the campus, and that the person was dressed in all the dark clothes. The shot was triggered on the campus from a “longer distance”, potentially from a roof, he said.
There is no evidence that someone else has been involved, according to the authorities.
Salt Lake City FBI special agent Robert Bohls said the investigation is in the early stages.
“We are following all potential clients and all tests,” he said during the press conference on Wednesday.
The father of two young children was a Trump confidant at the forefront of a flourishing conservative youth movement. Known as “Trump Whisperer”, Kirk was deeply involved in the investigation of the top positions for the administration after the elections and was in constant communication with the main advisors and the president himself.
“It’s horrible. It’s one of the most horrible things I’ve seen,” Trump told the correspondent of the Washington Chief of ABC, Jonathan Karl.
“It was a great guy,” Trump said. “He was a good man. He was an incredible guy. Nobody likes it.”
FBI and ATF agents are on the scene, according to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
Patel said previously that the agency “has full support for the response and ongoing research.”
In this archive photo of July 15, 2024, CEO of Turning Point USA Charlie Kirk speaks on stage the first day of the National Republican Convention in Milwaukee, Wis.
Somodevilla/Getty Images, file
There was a discussion about the shootings when the unique shot was shot.
Utah Valley student Luke Pitman, who witnessed the shooting, told Salt Lake City, KTVX, who heard a “Big Bang”.
“We thought it was confetti. Then, everyone started sprouting,” he told the station. “And then, I look at Charlie Kirk and see blood from his neck.”
Utah Senator Mike Lee said he is “tracking the situation at the University of Utah Valley closely.”
“Please, unique me to pray for Charlie Kirk and the students gathered there,” he said on social networks on the early Wednesday.
The activist and right -wing of the United States.
Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune through Reuters
Vice President JD Vance called Kirk “a genuinely good guy and a young father” while urging the prayers after the shooting.
Cox said previously that he was being informed “after the violence aimed at Charlie Kirk” during the visit of the conservative political activist to the campus.
“Those responsible will be fully responsible. Violence does not take place in our public life. Americans of each political persuasion must join to condemn this law,” he said in X.
The University was the first stop this fall for “The American Comeback Tour” by Turning Point USA, which travels to multiple university campuses throughout the country. The tour has planned stops in Utah, Colorado, Minneapolis, Virginia and other places, according to its website.
In this archive photo of May 28, 2025, Turning Point Usa co -founder, Charlie Kirk, is located in the back of the room while President Donald Trump speaks during a ceremony at the ceremony by the United States interim prosecutor for Washington, DC Jeanine Pirro in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC.
Andrew Harnik/Getty images, file
According to the website of the tour, an event with Kirk was expected at the University of Utah Valley to include a “trying wrong” table, according to the website of the tour.
Before Kirk’s visit to the University of Utah Valley, some students began a Online request asking the university administrators to prevent it.
Although Kirk’s visit was controversial on the campus, the police were not tracking specific or credible threats before the fatal shooting, they told ABC News, sources of application of Utah’s law.
It was estimated that more than 3,000 people were in the event, according to the University Chief of the University, Jeff Long. There were six police officers, along with Kirk’s private security, according to Long.
“We train for these things, and you think you have covered things, and these things, unfortunately, happen,” Long said during the Informative Session of the Press on Wednesday.
The University of Utah Valley campus is closed and classes have been canceled until further notice, the school said.
“We are shocked and saddened by the tragic death of Charlie Kirk,” said the vice president of the University of Utah Valley, Val Peterson, during the Information Session of the Press on Wednesday. “We express our sincere condolences to the Kirk family. We afflicted ourselves with our students, teachers and staff who testified to this indescribable tragedy.”
Peterson said that the University Turning Point Group of the University invited Kirk to speak on the campus, which according to him is seen as a “place to share ideas and discuss openly and respectfully.”
“Any attempt to violate those rights does not take place here,” he said. “We did not approve of any form of violence in UVU and we wanted to make our campus a safe place for everyone.”
There is no call to take refuge at this time, according to OREM Mayor Dave Young, who urged people to inform the police.
“We are devastated by today’s events,” said Young in a statement. “This type of violence should never happen anywhere, much less in our community. This is in direct opposition to our values, which include family, unity, respect and faith.”
The law agents work at the University of Utah Valley, where right -wing activist, Charlie Kirk, an ally of President Donald Trump, was shot during an event, in OREM, Utah, September 10, 2025.
Jim Urquhart/Reuters
The incident caused an immediate conviction of the leaders on both sides of the political hall.
“There is no place in our country for this type of violence. It must end now,” said former President Joe Biden. “Jill and I are praying for the family and loved ones of Charlie Kirk.”
“The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrible and this kind of increasing violence cannot afford in our society,” said Pennsylvania, Josh Shapiro, Democrat, in X.
The fellow Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom in California, said about X that “the attack against Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile and rebuilt. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in all forms.”
The Republican governor of Nevada, Joe Lombardo, said that “the attack was disgusting and heartbreaking, and there is no place, for violence in American politics.”
Trump has ordered that all American flags be lowered throughout the country in the middle of the staff until Sunday night in Kirk honor.
Kirk had two children, a 3 -year -old girl and a 1 -year -old boy, with his wife, Erika.
He was considered a great star in the extreme right by many conservative experts and seen as leading the next generation of Trump’s Maga Movement.
He founded the Turning Point USA Conservative Group in 2012, at the age of 18.
The group helped promote Trump, especially with the voters of the high school and the university. The group and Kirk had a large number of followers with conservatives, particularly men, and could develop that popularity in supporting Trump’s campaign.
During the 2016 Republican National Convention, Kirk spoke with an enthusiastic crowd as one of the youngest speakers. It was the opening speaker in 2020 RNC.
“Charlie Kirk was a dedicated father, husband and patriot who spent his life defending conservative values and inspiring the young Americans,” said the president of RNC, Joe Gruters, in a statement. “Our hearts break for their wife, their children, loved ones and innumerable supporters throughout the country. The horrible violence at the University of Utah Valley who removed the life of Charlie Kirk is absolutely terrible. Republicans and Democrats must be united to condemn this brutality that does not take place in the United States.”
Aaron Katersky and Ivan Pere.
This is a development story. Consult the updates again.
