(Al Jazeera Media Network) Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was shot dead at an event at a Utah college, United States President Donald Trump announced on social media.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Video of the incident circulating on social media showed Kirk addressing a large outdoor crowd when a loud crack that sounded like a gunshot rang out. Kirk can be seen briefly moving his hand to his neck as he falls off his chair, sending the attendees running.
“A shot was fired from a nearby building, and we have a suspect in custody,” a university spokesperson told Reuters in an email. A university spokesman later told media that the person taken into custody was not the shooter.
FBI Director Kash Patel said agents would be on the scene quickly.
“We are closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University,” Patel said on X, shortly after the shooting. “Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected.”
Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political organization. The event had divided opinions on campus. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures.
The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.”
Kirk played a key role in driving youth support for Trump in November. His events at college campuses nationwide typically draw large crowds.
“We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Former Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, a Republican who was at the event, said in an interview on Fox News Channel that he heard one shot and saw Kirk go back.
“It seemed like it was a close shot,” Chaffetz said.
He said there was a light police presence at the event, and Kirk had some security, but not enough.
“Utah is one of the safest places on the planet,” he said. “And so, we just don’t have these types of things.”
The shooting comes amid a spike in political violence in the United States across all parts of the ideological spectrum.
The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado rally for Israeli captives in Gaza, and an arson attack in April on the Pennsylvania governor’s home.
The most notorious of these events was the shooting of Trump during a campaign rally last year.
