September 11 2025, 08:15 
Charlie Kirk, the conservative founder and president of Turning Point USA, was shot in the neck and killed during the first stop of his American Comeback Tour at Utah Valley University, according to the president. Two detained suspects have been released, so the shooter remains at large. Politicians from both mainstream parties have condemned Kirk’s murder.
In his social media post announcing Kirk’s death, President Donald Trump wrote, “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. 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. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
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According to CNN, just before Kirk was shot, an attendee asked him, “Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” Kirk responded, “Too many.” In reality, the vast majority of mass shootings have been carried out by cisgender men.
When the same audience member then told Kirk that the number of trans shooters was five, they then asked Kirk if he knew how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years.
Kirk asked, “Counting or not counting gang violence?” before a shot rang out. “A large volume of blood gushe[d] from the left side of his neck,” before he collapsed, the Associated Press reported.
A panic broke out and event attendees (who had gathered in the campus Sorensen Center courtyard for the event) then screamed and scattered, videos showed. The university closed its campus for the day as investigations continue. The university has said that the shooter reportedly fired from a campus building about 200 yards from Kirk.
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Students opposed to Kirk’s appearance circulated an online petition calling for university administrators to bar him from appearing, the Associated Press reported — the petition received almost 1,000 signatures. However, in a statement, the university said it would allow his appearance, citing the institution’s “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.”
In April 2023, Kirk said, “I think it’s worth to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational.”
Kirk is a major supporter of the Make America Great Again (MAGA) political movement and had 17.9 million social media followers. Various anti-LGBTQ+ Trump administration officials have asked their followers to pray for Kirk, including the president, Vice President J.D. Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Donald Trump Jr., and Eric Trump.
Commenting on the shooting, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) said, “Political violence, unfortunately, has ramped up in this country … I think there are people who are fomenting it in this country. I think the president’s rhetoric often foments it.”
Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) wrote on X, “Political violence has absolutely no place in our nation. All Americans should pray for Charlie Kirk’s recovery and hold the entire UVU community in our hearts as they endure the trauma of this gun violence.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA), who agreed with Kirk’s anti-LGBTQ+ views while hosting him as a podcast guest earlier this year, called the shooting “disgusting, vile, and reprehensible,” adding, “We must reject political violence in EVERY form.”
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) wrote on X, “The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying and this growing type of unconscionable violence cannot be allowed in our society.”
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