Charlie Kirk, the co-founder of the conservative youth group Turning Level USA and an ally of President Trump, died Wednesday after being shot at a talking occasion in Utah.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump wrote on his social media web site Wednesday afternoon. “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.”
The president then ordered all American flags to be lowered to half-staff till 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Kirk, 31, was shot within the neck throughout a Q&A with college students at Utah Valley College round 12:10 p.m. native time. He was rushed to the hospital in crucial situation, however died about two hours later.
A suspect was nonetheless being sought as of Wednesday night, in accordance with the varsity. The campus was closed and all lessons had been canceled till additional discover as native and federal authorities looked for the shooter.
The college mentioned a “single shot” was fired from the Losee Middle, a campus constructing about 200 yards away from the place Kirk was talking. No different accidents had been reported.
Video of the taking pictures posted on social media exhibits Kirk seated in a tent when a loud pop is heard. Kirk can then be seen recoiling as a big quantity of blood gushes from the left facet of his neck.
The conservative firebrand was answering questions on gun violence earlier than being shot.
“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” an viewers member requested. “Too many,” Kirk responded.
“Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?” they adopted up.
“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk requested proper earlier than the deadly shot rang out.
Legislation enforcement tapes off an space after Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth group Turning Level USA, was shot on the Utah Valley College, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. (Tess Croewley/The Deseret Information by way of AP)
Kirk co-founded Turning Level USA in 2012 when he was 18. Along with Invoice Montgomery, a tea get together activist, they advocated for conservative politics in excessive colleges and universities.
On Wednesday, Kirk was showing at Utah Valley College, positioned in Orem, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake Metropolis, as a part of his American Comeback Tour. The varsity’s TPUSA chapter hosted the occasion.
“Utah Valley University is FIRED UP and READY for the first stop back on the American Comeback Tour,” Kirk wrote in a since-deleted publish on social media earlier than the taking pictures.
Charlie Kirk arms out hats earlier than talking at Utah Valley College in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret Information by way of AP)
Kirk’s look had been met with divided opinions on the UVU campus. An internet petition calling for college directors to cancel the occasion acquired almost 1,000 signatures.
His deadly taking pictures drew renewed consideration to the specter of political violence, which has seen a spike in the USA throughout all elements of the ideological spectrum.
“Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,” Vice President JD Vance wrote on social media previous to Kirk’s dying.
The group reacts after Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth group Turning Level USA, is shot on the Utah Valley College Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret Information by way of AP)
Kirk, who rose from a teenage conservative activist to a high political podcaster, was born and raised within the well-off Chicago suburbs of Arlington Heights and Prospect Heights. As a excessive schooler, he volunteered for the 2010 Senate marketing campaign of Illinois Republican Mark Kirk (no relation).
He briefly attended Harper School in Palatine, Ailing. earlier than dropping out to begin TPUSA.
In the course of the 2016 election, Kirk spoke on the Republican Nationwide Conference after which spent the remainder of the marketing campaign working as a private aide to Donald Trump Jr. Credited with serving to construct assist for Trump amongst younger voters, he was named because the opening speaker on the 2020 conference.
Kirk and the long run president later had a quick falling out when youth turnout for Trump dipped in 2020. After TPUSA poured tens of millions of {dollars} right into a get-out-the-vote program, Kirk’s efforts had been extra profitable within the 2024 election. He finally grew to become one among Trump’s advisors forward of his second time period.
Turning Level USA Founder Charlie Kirk speaks at a Turning Level occasion previous to Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, talking, Sept. 4, 2024, in Mesa, Ariz. (AP Photograph/Ross D. Franklin, File)
An avid tradition warrior, Kirk had been a fervent opponent of abortion, LGBTQ rights and insurance policies to stop local weather change, gun management and different points.
He wrote the bestseller “The MAGA Doctrine: The Only Ideas That Will Win the Future” and had almost 4 million subscribers to his YouTube channel.
Kirk married Erika Frantzve in 2021. The couple had two younger youngsters.
Initially Revealed: September 10, 2025 at 3:12 PM EDT
