Kirk, 31, a close ally of former President Trump, was shot in the neck while answering audience questions about mass shootings, Daily Mail reported.
Suspect allegedly on a rooftop?
Witness Emma Pitts told The Guardian: “We just saw Kirk’s neck jerk to the side and blood immediately gushing out.” A student present described the sound as similar to “a loud clap,” but blood began flowing moments later.
Videos shared on social media platform X show a suspect wearing dark clothing appearing on the roof of the Losee Center, about 200 meters from the scene. Another video captures the person running across the rooftop shortly after the shot. Police obtained footage from campus security cameras, but the quality is too poor to clearly identify the suspect’s appearance.
Authorities have confirmed that the shooter is still at large. Utah Governor Spencer Cox called it “a dark day for our state, and a sorrow for the entire nation,” emphasizing that this was a politically motivated assassination.
Security Gaps
After the incident, public attention has focused on security gaps at the event, which drew over 3,000 attendees. Many witnesses reported that they were not checked upon entering the venue. “I had a ticket with a valid scan code, but no one even looked at it. Anyone could have walked in,” Tyler McGettigan told NBC News.
Another witness confirmed that there were no metal detectors at the entrance and only a few security staff around Kirk. “No one checked bags, which felt very unusual to me,” Raydon Dechene told CNN.
Utah Valley University Police Chief Jeff Long stated that only six officers were on duty that day, in addition to Kirk’s personal security team and a few plainclothes officers. He admitted, “We had trained for situations like this and thought we were fully prepared. But today we failed, and the consequences were tragic.”
Trump’s Reaction
Charlie Kirk was a close ally of former President Trump, founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), and actively involved in mobilizing young voters in support of Trump’s campaign. Kirk had frequently appeared alongside Trump at campaign events and was regarded as a key voice in the conservative youth movement in the U.S.
TPUSA is a nonprofit organization founded by Kirk in 2012, when he was just 18 years old. The organization focuses on political activism among young people, especially college and high school students in the U.S., to promote conservative values.
About five hours after the incident, former President Donald Trump posted on the social media platform Truth, confirming Kirk’s death and expressing condolences to his family. Trump wrote: “Charlie Kirk has passed away. No one understands America’s youth like he did.”
“He was loved by everyone, especially by me, and now he is no longer with us,” Trump emphasized.