Proper-wing activist Charlie Kirk, 31, died Wednesday after being shot whereas talking at Utah Valley College.
President Donald Trump confirmed his loss of life, asserting it on social media.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump wrote on Fact Social. “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!”
Turning Level USA, Kirk’s conservative nonprofit, additionally confirmed his loss of life, asking that folks respect his household’s “privacy and dignity.”
Whereas an individual of curiosity was taken into custody Wednesday, FBI Director Kash Patel mentioned the particular person had been launched following “an interrogation by law enforcement.”
“Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency,” Patel wrote on X.
At a press convention hours after the capturing, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) characterised Kirk’s loss of life as a “political assassination.”
“When someone takes the life of a person because of their ideas or their ideals, then that very constitutional foundation is threatened,” he continued, including: “I don’t care what his politics are; I care that he was an American.”
WARNING: The picture beneath depicts Kirk within the aftermath of the capturing.
Movies of the capturing are out there right here. WARNING: Extraordinarily graphic and disturbing footage.
Illustration: HuffPost; Aerial picture by Google
In reminiscence of Kirk, Trump ordered all American flags lowered to half workers till Sunday night.
Footage of the incident in Orem, Utah, circulating on-line seems to indicate Kirk being shot close to his neck and bleeding profusely. The incident occurred roughly 20 minutes after Kirk started talking.
Kirk was shot whereas fielding a query about mass shootings in America, video of the occasion exhibits. When requested if he knew what number of mass shootings there had been within the U.S. lately, Kirk requested the attendee, “Counting or not counting gang violence?” He was shot instantly after.
College students instantly started to flee and take cowl. Reporters on the scene from Deseret Information informed CNN it appeared Kirk had misplaced plenty of blood “immediately.”
Officers mentioned at a press convention that the suspected shooter fired “potentially from a roof” and was wearing darkish clothes.
A petition had circulated earlier than the occasion urging the conservative commentator and government director of Turning Level USA to not communicate on the college.
In response to Kirk’s loss of life, Vice President JD Vance posted: “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.”
Former President Joe Biden additionally prolonged his prayers, writing, “There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now. Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirk’s family and loved ones.”
Cox condemned the assault and mentioned he’s working with the FBI to carry the shooter to justice.
“Violence has no place in our public life,” he wrote on social media. “Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) was among the many Democrats who mentioned Kirk’s capturing was half of a bigger downside.
“The scourge of gun violence and political violence must end. The shooting of Charlie Kirk is the latest incident of this chaos and it must stop,” she wrote on social media.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker (D) mentioned Trump should take some accountability for the current wave of political violence.
“Political violence, unfortunately, has ramped up in this country,” he mentioned, including: “I think there are people who are fomenting it in this country. I think the president’s rhetoric often foments it.”
In line with the Utah Valley College Police web site, hid carry is permitted on campus.
The college closed the campus Wednesday afternoon and canceled courses till additional discover. College students had been urged to go away the college campus instantly.
Mark Wilson by way of Getty Pictures
Kirk based Turning Level USA practically a decade in the past and have become a right-wing darling in brief order. He beforehand served as an aide to Trump throughout Trump’s first presidency.
Kirk hosted “The Charlie Kirk Show,” a program the place he steadily espoused hard-right views, usually with hyperlinks to white nationalist conspiracy theories. A report from the Southern Poverty Legislation Heart in Could famous that Kirk’s foray into right-wing politics began out along with his promotion of a “secular worldview” for conservatives that inspired the separation of church and state, however that shifted, and his message started to align extra with the spiritual far proper.
Kirk launched Turning Level Religion in an effort to arrange pastors and church buildings in 2021, usually mixing Trumpist-style politics along with his personal messaging.
Kirk was on the college as a part of a tour he dubbed “The American Comeback Tour.”
This can be a creating story. Please examine again for updates.
