Turning Point USA co-founder and conservative activist Charlie Kirk died on Wednesday while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, and Utah Governor Spencer Cox said a person of interest is in custody.
Kirk was 31, and he left behind a wife, a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son.
In a press conference Wednesday evening, Cox described the incident as a “dark day for our state.”
“I want to be very clear that this is a political assassination,” Cox said.
The announcement came minutes after FBI Director Kash Patel announced on X that law enforcement had taken someone into custody in the Wednesday incident.
“The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody,” Patel wrote. “Thank you to the local and state authorities in Utah for your partnership with @fbi. We will provide updates when able.”
“May he be received into the merciful arms of our loving Savior, who suffered and died for Charlie,” Turning Point USA said in a statement. “We ask that everyone keep his family and loved ones in your prayers. We ask that you please respect their privacy and dignity at this time.”
Utah Valley University spokesperson Ellen Treanor told TheWrap that Kirk was hit by a shot at about 12:20 p.m. MST at the school’s Orem campus, prompting the campus’ evacuation. The incident remains under investigation by Orem Police, UVU Police, the FBI and the Utah Department of Public Safety, she said, with the latter leading the investigation.
President Donald Trump confirmed the news of his passing in a Truth Social post on Wednesday.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” he wrote. “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!”
Kirk’s spokesperson, Andrew Kolvert, confirmed to the New York Times that Kirk was dead not long after being taken to the hospital following the shooting.
“We can confirm that Mr. Kirk was shot, but we don’t know his condition. The suspect is not in custody,” Scott Trotter, another spokesperson for the university, told Deseret News. “Police are still investigating. Campus is closed for the rest of the day.”
Video posted to social media from the incident showed Kirk — in the middle of his “Prove Me Wrong” segment, where he asks students to stump him — about to raise the microphone to his mouth when a gunshot roared out. Kirk flung his head back and recoiled in his chair.
The graphic video of the shooting was widely circulated on social media, including by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
The Orem Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment, though FBI Director Kash Patel said he would send agents to the scene.
“We are closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University,” Patel wrote on X. “Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected. Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation.”
Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012, turning it into the most prominent conservative youth organization in the country and cementing himself as a steward of the movement that propelled President Trump back to office.
“Charlie Kirk will tell you, TikTok helped, but Charlie Kirk helped also,” Trump said at an Oval Office swearing-in ceremony for Jeanine Pirro, where Kirk appeared. “He’s done great and I appreciate all the help.”
He was at the university on Wednesday as part of Turning Point USA’s “American Comeback Tour.” Reports of a shooting emerged minutes after Kirk, in a since-deleted X post, raved about a “FIRED UP” and “READY” environment at the campus. “WE. ARE. SO. BACK,” he posted.
Trump urged his supporters on Truth Social to keep Kirk in their prayers.
“We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot,” Trump wrote. “A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!”
Vice President JD Vance, who has repeatedly appeared alongside Kirk, also asked for prayers in an X post, calling him “a genuinely good guy and a young father.”
Editor’s note: A previous version of this story cited a university statement that a suspect was in custody following Wednesday’s Utah Valley University shooting. That statement was inaccurate, and this story has since been updated.
