Charlie Kirk, the powerful right-wing activist and executive director of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), has died after being shot while attending an event in Utah.
In videos circulating on social media, Kirk can be seen being shot in the neck while talking to students, sitting under a tent in the courtyard of Utah Valley University.
Kirk was there to participate in the American Comeback Tour, organized by the Utah Valley chapter of TPUSA. There's also footage of students on campus fleeing at the sound of gunfire.
"Police are investigating, the suspect is in custody," says an alert from Utah Valley University (UVU). The campus is under lockdown. The shot is believed to have come from the Losee Center, a building about 200 yards away, about 20 minutes after Kirk began speaking .
"The great, even legendary, Charlie Kirk has passed away," Trump wrote. "No one understood or owned the hearts 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's and my condolences go out to his wonderful wife, Erika, and his family. Charlie, we love you!" Donald Trump wrote on Truth.
Kirk, 31, has publicly promoted conservative and Trump-aligned causes , critical race theory, and climate change denial. He has served as CEO, fundraiser, and public face of Turning Point since its founding. He co-founded the organization in 2012 at the age of 18.
In October 2020, Kirk hosted a daily three-hour radio talk show, called The Charlie Kirk Show, on Salem Media's "The Answer" radio channel. The previous year, Kirk had announced the acquisition of Students for Trump along with "all associated media assets." He later became its president and launched a campaign to recruit one million students for Trump's 2020 re-election campaign.
In March 2025, Trump appointed him to the Board of Visitors of the United States Air Force Academy.
(Unioneonline/vl)