Charlie Kirk, a close ally of Donald Trump, was struck with a single bullet fired from a rooftop as he addressed hundreds of students at Utah Valley University.
The person who shot dead US conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a debate at Utah University on Wednesday is still at large, with the FBI releasing two previously detained persons after finding no connection to the shooting.
Kirk, a close ally of Donald Trump, was struck with a single bullet fired from a rooftop as he addressed hundreds of students at Utah Valley University, authorities said.
Where is the shooter?
The shooter fled in the ensuing chaos, as students screamed and ran for cover. By early Thursday, federal, state and local investigators were still searching for the unidentified attacker and said they were managing “multiple active crime scenes.”ย
Two people detained on Wednesday were later released, with the FBI saying they found no connection or involvement in the shooting.
Trump’s reaction
Trump announced Kirkโs death on social media, calling him โgreat, and even legendary.โ Later, in a video statement from the White House, he described Kirk as a โmartyr for truth and freedomโ and blamed the rhetoric of the โradical leftโ for creating the climate that led to the assassination.
Chaos at Utah Valley University
Videos posted online captured the moment of the shooting. Kirk, 31, sat under a white tent decorated with banners reading “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong,” speaking into a microphone when the single shot rang out. He grabbed at his neck as blood poured down, leaving the audience horrified.ย
Witnesses described a few seconds of stunned silence before panic erupted. People scrambled for safety, some splashing through decorative pools, others dropping shoes, bags and water bottles in the rush. Several fell and were trampled as thousands attempted to escape the Sorensen Centre courtyard.
Among those present was student Madison Lattin, who sat just feet from Kirk. She recalled hearing the impact of the bullet. โBlood is falling and dripping down, and youโre just so scared, not just for him but for your own safety,โ she said. She described eerie silence followed immediately by screams, and later broke down in tears upon learning Kirk had died, calling him a role model who had inspired her determination.
Kirk was debating gun violence when he was shot
The event, organised by Kirk’s youth organisation Turning Point USA, had been billed as the first stop on his “American Comeback Tour.” It drew around 3,000 attendees and a polarised campus response, including an online petition with nearly 1,000 signatures demanding administrators bar Kirk from appearing. University police deployed six officers to the venue alongside Kirkโs private security team.
Moments before the shooting, Kirk was answering questions about mass shootings and gun violence. An audience member asked him about the number of transgender Americans involved in mass shootings over the past decade. “Too many,” Kirk replied. When pressed on the total number of mass shootings overall, Kirk countered by asking whether the tally included gang violence. It was then that the fatal shot was fired.
The shooter, described as wearing dark clothing, fired from a rooftop some distance away and slipped away amid the stampede. Governor Spencer Cox said the attack would be prosecuted to the fullest extent, noting Utah retains the death penalty.
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