 "American right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point's visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP")
The face of Maga. A staunch ally of Donald Trump. Executive director of Turning Point USA. Conservative commentator. Top podcaster and culture warrior.
There are many ways to define Charlie Kirk, the famous right-wing activist and commentator. However, on Wednesday (September 10), one could add victim of gun violence to Kirk’s name after he was shot and killed at Utah Valley University, Utah in western America.
The killing of Kirk prompted an outpouring of condolences from several famous names, including US President Donald Trump. “The great, and even legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” announced the US president on his social media, adding later, “Charlie inspired millions and tonight all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror. Charlie is a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loves so much, the United States of America.”
But how did the shooting that killed Kirk occur?
We try to piece together the chain of events that led to the killing and the aftermath of it.
Who was Charlie Kirk?
The 31-year-old was one of the highest profile conservative activists and media personalities in the US and a trusted ally of President Donald Trump. Kirk was famously known for holding open-air debates, mostly at US colleges, to challenge youth perspectives.
But before he became famous for his debates, Kirk founded Turning Point USA, a youth movement, at the age of 18. The organisation was aimed at spreading conservative ideals at liberal-leaning US colleges. According to its website, Turning Point USA’s mission is to “promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government”.
Today, the organisation now has chapters in more than 850 colleges and holds regular public events. Kirk, himself, became a social media personality, amassing more than 5.2 million followers on X and 7.3 million followers on TikTok.
And to call him a Trump fan would be an understatement. He echoed Trump’s claim that the election was stolen from in 2020 and even spread anti-transgender views and scepticism over the Covid-19 pandemic.
What happened on Wednesday?
As part of his ‘American Comeback Tour’, Kirk appeared at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, a first of his 15 stops on his speaking tour.
Before the shooting occurred, he had taken his seat at his popular “Prove Me Wrong” debating table, taking questions from an audience outdoors.
He began taking questions from the audience, drawing in large numbers at the campus with videos from the event showing him going back and forth on mass shootings and transgender people.
At one point, he’s asked: “Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?”
“Too many,” Kirk responds as the crowd claps.
He is then asked, “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?” To which Kirk replies, “Counting or not counting gang violence?”
Before the debating can go forward, a single shot rings out and videos show Kirk reaching up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck.
Eva Terry and Emma Pitts, two reporters from the Deseret News, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, who were at the university when the shooting occurred, told USAToday, “Before he was able to speak a bullet hit the left side of his neck and it was pretty bloody.”
“Then he fell off his chair and then everyone dropped to the ground,” she added. “I didn’t see anyone catch him, I saw him slump out of his chair and that’s the last thing I saw.”
“When the shot went off, we dropped to the ground and were holding each other and we said a prayer,” she said. Everyone around them was dropping to the ground, and then after about 30 seconds, she said “everyone ran.”
Former Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, who was also at the event, told AFP that Kirk was then rushed away on a stretcher by his security detail. “As soon as that shot went out, he fell back,” Chaffetz said. “Everybody hit the deck… a lot of people started screaming, and then everybody started running.”
Who was behind Kirk’s shooting?
Officials at the scene of the crime note that Kirk was killed by a single bullet, which the shooter fired from a roof of a building, roughly 200 yards away.
According to Utah Valley University spokesperson, the shot came from the Losee Center about 20 minutes after Kirk began speaking.
Later, a dispatch message stated that a possible suspect was “on top of the building on the far north side just east of the library” and wearing “all black, [carrying a] black long gun, black tactical helmet, a black mask, possibly wearing a tactical vest and jeans.”
A few hours into the shooting, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Kash Patel announced that a suspect had been arrested. In fact, Beau Mason, the commissioner of the state Department of Public Safety, said that they had taken one suspect into custody — a man identified as George Zinn — but was later released after determining he was not the suspect.
This means that the search for the shooter is ongoing with the BBC reporting that the police are going door-to-door in and around the university, still searching for Kirk’s killer.
Meanwhile, some eyewitnesses were present at the event where Kirk was killed recount that the security was lax. Jeremy and Amy King told CNN, “I looked around and there was no security. We were able to walk right in. I had a ticket. Nobody checked my ticket. We were able to go through the door and go through some students and go all the way down to the front row.”
Jeremy King said Kirk’s security team was scanning the crowd “the whole time,” but “it was wide open for anyone to go to that event.”
“They acted immediately,” Jeremy King said of Kirk’s security guards. “When he went down, they were they were on top of him immediately.”
Even Emma Pitts and Eva Terry, the reporters, added that they were “surprised that nobody scanned our equipment, nobody scanned our bags, there was no security like that”.
Adam Bartholomew, another eyewitness, also commented on the lack of security while speaking to BBC. He adds that he was “surprised” that there was no security at the event. “Nobody stopped me or searched my bag.”
Meanwhile, 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.
What happens next?
The killing of Kirk has led to an outpour of grief and condolences. US President Donald Trump himself paid tribute to Kirk, calling him a “martyr” for conservative values. Kirk “fought for liberty, democracy, justice and the American people. He’s a martyr for truth and freedom,” the 79-year-old president said in a video posted to his Truth Social platform. Trump has also ordered for flags to fly at half-mast to pay tribute to Kirk.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox dubbed Kirk’s death as a “political assassination”. “This is a dark day for our state. It’s a tragic day for our nation. I want to be clear that this is a political assassination,” Cox told reporters.
Kirk’s killing has even prompted strong reactions from across the political aisle. California Governor Gavin Newsom said, “The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible.”
“The murder of Charlie Kirk breaks my heart. My deepest sympathies are with his wife, two young children, and friends,” said Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was wounded in a 2011 shooting in her Arizona district.
Former US presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden also condemned the killing with Obama writing on X, “We don’t yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy.”
Kirk’s killing also highlights how political violence is now a feature of US life. Before Kirk, Trump faced two assassination attempts last year. Moreover, surveys have shown an increased acceptance of using violence for political aims.
Robert Pape, who directs the Chicago Project on Security and Threats, wrote in the New York Times that a survey his team conducted in May was its “most worrisome yet”. “About 40 per cent of Democrats supported the use of force to remove Trump from the presidency, and about 25 per cent of Republicans supported the use of the military to stop protests against Trump’s agenda. These numbers more than doubled since last fall, when we asked similar questions,” he wrote.
With inputs from agencies