Charlie Kirk, Trump ally, rightwing activist shot dead at Utah University

Charlie Kirk, the conservative commentator and founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed in the afternoon of September 11 while speaking at Utah Valley University (UVU), in an attack that state officials described as a likely “political assassination.”

The 31-year-old, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was about 20 minutes into his speech on the university’s courtyard as part of TPUSA’s American Comeback Tour when a bullet struck him in the neck, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

He was rushed to the hospital but later died, according to local police.

“This is a dark day for our state. It’s a tragic day for our nation,” Utah’s Republican governor Spencer Cox said at a press conference, calling the incident a “political assassination” while urging an end to spiralling political violence.

“And I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty here in the state of Utah,” he added.

Authorities said the shooter, who remained at large, may have fired from a rooftop and was dressed in dark clothing. “We believe this was a targeted attack,” Utah Department of Public Safety commissioner Beau Mason said, noting investigators were reviewing security footage.

The killing sparked immediate political fallout. Trump, who announced Kirk’s death on social media and ordered flags lowered to half-staff, wrote: “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.”

In an Oval Office address, the president blamed “radical left political violence” for the shooting. “For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now,” he said.

Prominent Democrats also condemned the killing. Vice President Kamala Harris said: “Political violence has no place in America.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries echoed that sentiment, saying it was “completely incompatible with American values.”

Eyewitnesses described a chaotic scene as thousands of students fled gunfire. Emma Pitts, a reporter with the Deseret News, said Kirk had been responding to a question about mass shootings when the shot rang out. “Before he could even answer, we heard a gunshot and we just saw Charlie Kirk’s neck turn to the side, and it appeared that he had been shot in the neck. There was blood, immediately a lot of blood,” she said.

Law enforcement briefly detained two people but later released them, saying neither had ties to the shooting.

Turning Point USA confirmed Kirk’s death in an internal email, writing that he had gone “to his eternal reward with Jesus Christ in Heaven” and that the group would suspend operations until at least 15 September. UVU cancelled classes for the rest of the week.

Turning Point USA, the right-wing political group founded by Charlie Kirk at 18, has grown into a nationwide network with more than 850 campus chapters. The organisation brings conservative speakers to universities and stages large conferences on issues such as economics, race and immigration.

The group played a prominent role in mobilising young voters for President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, particularly among Gen Z men. Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., has praised Kirk as “one of the true rock stars of this movement.”

Turning Point also runs several popular podcasts, including The Charlie Kirk Show, centred on U.S. right-wing politics, and Culture Apothecary, hosted by Alex Clark, which promotes conservative views on wellness and lifestyle under its Make America Healthy Again campaign.

 By Aghakazim Guliyev