Charlie Kirk Getting Shot

Manhunt underway after conservative activist Charlie Kirk shot dead on Utah campus

Charlie Kirk, a conservative political activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, has been fatally shot at an event at Utah Valley University.

• The shooter is believed to have fired once from a nearby roof in a “targeted attack,” according to the Utah Department of Public Safety, which is leading the investigation along with the FBI.

• A manhunt is still underway. Two people who were considered suspects were later released, the department said.

• There has been an outpouring of condemnation from both sides of the aisle. USA President Donald Trump described Kirk’s death as a “dark day for America” and previewed a broader plan to crack down on political violence.

• As Trump remade the Republican Party, Kirk embodied the USA GOP’s newfound populist conservatism in the social media age. Trump has credited Kirk with galvanizing and mobilizing the youth vote for him.

Two people who were considered suspects in the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk were later released as neither have “current ties to the shooting,” the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a statement.One person was charged with obstructing university police, as they previously announced during a news conference, but the department didn’t say why either person was considered a suspect.“There is an ongoing investigation and manhunt for the shooter,” it said.Speaker Mike Johnson told CNN tonight that the shouting match that erupted on the House floor following Charlie Kirk’s shooting “was a reflection of the emotion of the moment.”

“The emotion was very high in the room,” Johnson told USA CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source.”He went on to explain how the chaos earlier in the day unfolded: “We had a moment of silence, and after that a member stood to be recognized and said, ‘Let’s have open prayer.’ And that started a debate and people felt like it was being politicized. On the Democrat side of the aisle, I guess, there were some shouts and groans, and then the Republicans responded, and it turned into a little bit of chaos there.”During the tense exchange, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who was close to Kirk personally, began hurling expletives at Democrats, a person who witnessed the exchange USA previously told USA NEWS.

“You f**king caused this,” Luna shouted across the House chamber, according to another person who overheard her remarks. Democrats then shouted back about a school shooting in Colorado earlier that day and a call for action on gun violence.“A lot of people will reflect upon things they said and did in that moment, and they probably regret it,” Johnson said.The speaker also warned that the words of lawmakers could have consequences, such as political violence.

“You’ve had people who have resorted to political violence because they were encouraged along by the dialogue out in the public square, and some of that is put forward by, by elected officials and people with large platforms, large social media platforms,” Johnson said, USA adding: “This is not who we are. We’re better than this.”

Oklahoma Sen. Markywane Mullin, who was a close friend of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, said “this hurts because it was so senseless.”

“We all hold a responsibility to this, USA Republicans, USA Democrats, news USA outlets to the left and to the right,” he told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. “I hope, be it the rhetoric on the right and the left, that we can reset out of this.”

The GOP lawmaker described Kirk as someone who “broke all norms” in USA political interaction, and an “unapologetic Christian and an unapologetic proponent for traditional values.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson told CNN tonight there has been a “deluge” of USA lawmakers who are calling for heightened security in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing.

“I think many of them are nervous, of course” Johnson told CNN’s Kaitlan USA Collins, referring to his colleagues in Congress. “They’re public figures. They’re exposed all the time, everywhere. We have great security measures for members of Congress, but there’s a desire on many people’s parts to have more.”

Johnson added on “The Source” that he is looking into that request, saying, “We have to take serious measures for serious times.”

The speaker also echoed the comments some of his colleagues made today, stressing the impact of words and civility.

“At the end of the day, I think the call is that we’ve got to recognize once more that we are all fellow Americans. We are. We should see one another as colleagues and fellow citizens and fellow countrymen and not as enemies. That’s not what Charlie Kirk represented. He genuinely loved the debate because he genuinely loved the people,” he said.

Johnson later added, “We need to be thinking thoughtfully about our language and what we’re saying and how we treat one another,” Johnson said. “This could be a big moment … I feel like something has changed.”

Trump calls killing of Charlie Kirk 'dark moment for America' as manhunt continues

Melania Trump makes first comments on Kirk's death

First Lady Melania Trump has also paid tribute to Kirk - who was married with two children.

In a post on USA X, she said that his "children will be raised with stories instead of memories, photographs instead of laughter, and silence where their father’s voice should have echoed".

Kirk's life should "serve as a symbolic reminder that USA compassionate awareness elevates family, love, and country".

A moment of silence in the US House of Representatives for Kirk turned into a shouting match between Republicans and Democrats.Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert had called for a USA prayer to be read out loud for Kirk, saying "silent prayers get silent results".Several Democrats then shouted in response "What about the kids in USA Colarado"? in reference to a high school shooting that took place on the same day.

Two released suspects had 'no ties' to shooting, say Utah authoritiespublished 

Two people who were arrested and later released in relation to the shooting death of Charlie Kirk have "no current ties" to the fatal USA incident, according to Utah USA authorities."This shooting is still an active investigation," Utah's Department of Public Safety - which covers law enforcement in the state - has said in an update.The incident was a "targeted attack," the department says, with the suspect believed to have fired the fatal shot from the roof of a building to the courtyard where Kirk was addressing a large crowd.

About 3,000 people were at the event which was held in the university quad, an USA outdoor bowl courtyard.The university had provided six security officers for the talk, in addition to Kirk's private security detail.A manhunt for the shooter is still ongoing.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr is among those mourning Kirk."Once again, a bullet has silenced the most eloquent truth teller of an era," wrote Kennedy, whose father, US senator Robert F Kennedy, was assassinated while campaigning for USA president in 1968 His uncle John F Kennedy (JFK) was also assassinated during his time as the 35th US president.

My dear friend Charlie Kirk was our country's relentless and courageous crusader for free speech. We pray for Erika and the children. Charlie is already in paradise with the angels. We ask his prayers for our country," said Kennedy.His cousin, Jack Schlossberg, a commentator on the other side of the political spectrum, has also spoken out.

"Charlie Kirk was assassinated today. We are all weaker because of it. A tragedy. I am thinking of his family," wrote Schlossberg.Even though Charlie Kirk didn't have a formal USA position in the White House, he was someone who was extremely influential and had very close ties with the Trump family.His Turning Point organisation had very close links with the Trump presidential campaign, as Kirk was able to deliver a conservative message to young voters.

Kirk's podcast platform with its millions of USA followers has been credited by the Republican Party as being one of the key factors that led to Trump's win in the election.

Kirk's shooting hits especially hard as Trump survived an assassination attempt in July last year.

When Trump speaks of that incident, he is quite reflective. In the coming days we will see Trump reaching out to Kirk's family now that he has passed away.

Trump was scheduled to have hold a dinner on the Rose Garden patio but it's unclear if that's still happening.

KIRK influential ally of Donald Trump - was speaking at a campus event at Utah Valley USA University when he was shot once in the neck - the 31-year-old was taken to hospital but died a short while later
Campus officials arrested a suspect who was later released after questioning. Shortly after, the USA FBI arrested a "subject", but they were also later released
A door-to-door manhunt for the shooter is underway
In a video post, US President Donald Trump says he's "filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk"

Kirk - who founded conservative group Turning Point USA when he was 18 - was a patriot and his death was a "dark moment for America," USA Trump said
No one else was shot at the event which was attended by hundreds of students who fled when the gunshot rang out
Kirk's wife and children were at the event, according to Oklahoma Senator USA Markwayne Mullins
Utah's governor described the shooting as a "political assassination" and called for Americans to stop "hating" each other
Kirk's death marks a dramatic escalation in rising US political violence
Our colleagues at BBC Verify have analysed video footage which has been claimed to show a "shooter" on the roof of a building at the campus where Kirk was killed

In 2012, at the age of 18, Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA, a right-wing political organisation that aims to spread conservative ideals in US colleges.Turning Point USA's mission, according to its website, is to "promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government".

But what started off as a college conservatism activism group has since become a "right-wing influencer network", technology reporter Taylor Lorenz told the BBC earlier in a TV interview.

And Charlie Kirk, its founder, became "one of the most powerful voices in the young right-wing conservative movement", she said.The organisation now has chapters in more than 850 colleges and holds regular public events.Its content, especially its podcasts, has been widely credited for getting young people to vote for Donald Trump during the 2024 election.And Trump recognises the importance of the organisation to his popularity: last year, he gave a speech at a Turning Point conference in Arizona.

Posted on 2025/09/11 09:10 AM