Conservative pundit and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk has been shot dead during an event in Utah, with a suspect reportedly in custody.

The 31-year-old was killed while giving a talk at Utah Valley University on Wednesday (10 September). A suspect in the shooting is in custody, FBI Director Kash Patel said on social media. 

US president Donald Trump, a close ally of Kirk, announced he had died after the pundit was reportedly shot in the neck, according to the BBC.

“No one understood or had the heart of the youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “He was loved and admired by all, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.”

Early reports noted that shots were fired from an academic building on campus. Police are reportedly still looking for the attacker and are going “building to building” to evacuate people.

A suspect was taken into custody but later released, according to multiple sources.

Videos of the incident circulating across social media show Kirk answering a question on mass shootings moments before he was shot.

In one video, an audience member asked the commentator: “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?” Responding, Kirk said, “Counting or not counting gang violence?”

A loud bang is then almost immediately heard, with Kirk violently jolting backwards in his seat. Blood can be seen on his neck.

Trump has since ordered flags in the US to be flown at half mast in honour of Kirk, who he called “a truly great American Patriot.”

Donald Trump says he’s ordering all American flags throughout the U.S. to be lowered to half-mast until Sunday, following Charlie Kirk’s death. pic.twitter.com/kS1161mFb6

— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 10, 2025

Former US president Joe Biden also gave a statement, saying there is “No place in our country for this kind of violence.”

Fellow former president, Barack Obama, said in a post on X/Twitter: “We don’t yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy.

“Michelle and I will be praying for Charlie’s family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children.”

Best known for co-founding Turning Point USA in 2012 at the age of 18, Kirk was known for holding open-air debates on campuses, where he often expressed right-wing, anti-LGBTQ+ views.

The post Right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk shot dead in Utah appeared first on PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBTQ+ news.