Conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was shot and critically injured throughout an occasion at Utah Valley College Wednesday, a stunning act of political violence that introduced widespread condemnation.
Movies shared on social media reveals Kirk sitting underneath a white cover, talking to a whole bunch of individuals via a microphone when he’s abruptly struck within the neck earlier than falling again because the sound of a loud pop is heard.
Earlier than he was shot within the neck, he was requested about mass shootings.
“Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last ten years?” an viewers member asks.
“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk responds.
Virtually instantly, Kirk is shot within the neck. One video reveals blood pouring out from the wound. As the group realized what had taken place, individuals are heard screaming and operating away.
A supply acquainted with the investigation advised the Instances {that a} bullet struck Kirk’s carotid artery. He was listed in important situation, the supply stated.
Charlie Kirk speaks earlier than he’s shot throughout Turning Level’s go to to Utah Valley College in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
(Tess Crowley/The Deseret Information through Assocaited Press)
Utah Valley College Police stated in an alert that “a single shot was fired on campus toward a visiting speaker,” and that it was investigating the taking pictures. The division stated a suspect was in custody.
Regulation enforcement sources stated Kirk was from a substantial distance, maybe 200 yards away, and college safety virtually instantly apprehended the gunman.
Movies shared on X, reveals an older man in handcuffs on the bottom that witnesses claimed was the alleged gunman. The person is heard saying “I have the right to remain silent.” In one other video, police escort the person whereas the group jeers him. One girl is heard screaming: “How dare you!”
On Wednesday afternoon, President Trump posted a message concerning the incident on Reality Social.
“We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!” he stated.
Mike Lee, a Utah senator, posted on X shortly after movies circulated on-line that he was “tracking the situation at Utah Valley University closely.”
“Please join me in praying for Charlie Kirk and the students gathered there,” he stated.
The taking pictures drew rapid phrases of help and requires prayers for Kirk from America’s main conservative politicians.
“Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,” Vice President J.D. Vance posted on X.
The group reacts after Charlie Kirk is shot throughout Turning Level’s go to to Utah Valley College in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
(Tess Crowley/The Deseret Information through Related Press)
Main Democrats additionally moved swiftly to sentence the assault.
Gabrielle Gifford, a former Arizona congresswoman who survived a political assassination try in 2011 and is a gun violence prevention advocate, stated on X that she was horrified to listen to that Kirk was shot.
“Democratic societies will always have political disagreements, but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence,” she wrote.
Kirk, a conservative political activist, was in Utah for his “The American Comeback Tour” tour, which started at Utah Valley College on Wednesday.
The tour, as lots of his occasions, have drawn each supporters and protesters. Kirk’s spouse and youngsters had been on the college when he was shot, Oklahoma Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin posted on X.
Kirk, 31, is without doubt one of the Republican Occasion’s most influential energy brokers.
The founding father of the influential conservative youth group Turning Level USA, Kirk has an unlimited on-line attain: 1.6 million followers on Rumble, 3.8 million subscribers on YouTube, 5.2 million followers on X, and seven.3 million followers on TikTok.
Through the 2024 election, he rallied his on-line followers to help President Trump, prompting conservative podcast host Megyn Kelly to say: “It’s not an understatement to say that this man is responsible for helping the Republicans win back the White House and the U.S. Senate.”
Simply after Trump was elected for a second time to the presidency final November, Kirk ceaselessly posted to social media from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property in Florida, the place he had first-hand affect over which MAGA loyalists Trump named to his cupboard.
Kirk is understood for melding his conservative politics, nationalism and evangelical religion, casting the present political local weather as a state of religious warfare between a righteous proper wing and so-called “godless” liberals.
He has declared that God is on the aspect of American conservatives and that there’s “no separation of church and state.” And in a speech to Trump supporters in Georgia final yr, he stated that “the Democrat Party supports everything that God hates” and that “there is a spiritual battle happening all around us.”
Kirk can also be identified for his memes and faculty campus talking excursions meant to “own the libs.” Movies of his debates with liberal faculty college students have racked up tens of hundreds of thousands of views.
Matthew Boedy, a professor of rhetoric and composition on the College of North Georgia, has written a forthcoming ebook about Christian nationalism that prominently options Kirk and his affect.The ebook, “The Seven Mountains Mandate,” comes out Sept. 30.
“Today is a tragedy,” Boedy stated in an interview with The Instances on Wednesday. “It is a red flag for our nation. And I hope he survives.”
Boedy stated the taking pictures — following the 2 assassination makes an attempt towards President Trump on the marketing campaign path final yr — is a tragic reminder of “just how divisive we have become.”
Kirk’s presence on the Utah campus was preceded by petitions and protests. However, Boedy famous, that’s typical along with his appearances, and it’s stunning to see this violence carried out.
“Charlie Kirk is, I would say, the most influential person who doesn’t work in the White House,” he stated.
Boedy stated Kirk reaches an unlimited array of demographics via his radio present and social media accounts and “obviously is in conversation with President Trump a lot.”
Kirk has stated his melding in recent times of religion and politics has been influenced by Rob McCoy, the pastor of Godspeak Calvary Chapel in Newbury Park in Ventura County. Kirk calls McCoy, who usually speaks at his occasions, his private pastor.
Boedy stated McCoy turned Kirk towards Christian nationalism, particularly the Seven Mountains Mandate — the concept Christians ought to attempt to affect the seven pillars of cultural affect: arts and faith, enterprise, schooling, household, authorities, media and faith.
Boedy stated Kirk has “turned Turning Point USA into an arm of Christian nationalism. There’s a strategy called the Seven Mountains Mandate, and he has put his TPUSA money into each of those.”
Boedy stated Kirk is a vocal Second Modification supporter and that the taking pictures probably will additional the need amongst his conservative followers who tout the thought of getting good guys with weapons “to have more guns everywhere, which is sad.”
FBI Director Kash Patel stated the company was intently monitoring reviews of the taking pictures.
“Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected,” he stated on X. “Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation.”
Instances employees author Ana Ceballos contributed to this report.
