Charlie Kirk, right-wing influencer, fatally shot in Utah
Charlie Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump and the founder of the nation’s preeminent right-wing youth activist organization, was fatally shot Wednesday while speaking at a campus event at Utah Valley University, his spokesperson Andrew Kolvet said.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump posted on Truth Social, adding, “He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.”
A university spokesperson, Ellen Treanor, said that Kirk, 31, was struck about 20 minutes after he began speaking on the university’s campus in Orem, Utah. She said a suspect had fired at Kirk from the Losee Center, a building about 200 yards away.
The university originally said the shooter had been taken into custody. But officials later determined that the person being detained by police officers in videos posted online was not the gunman, said another spokesperson, Scott Trotter. He was relying on information from the university’s police chief, who was coordinating with law enforcement agencies.
Here are the details:
— Video footage: Cellphone videos posted online showed people running from the event after a gunshot rang out. One video appeared to show Kirk’s head jerking back as blood poured from his neck. He had been delivering remarks while sitting under a tent with the slogan “The American Comeback” printed on it.
— Bipartisan condemnation: Democrats and Republicans quickly denounced the shooting on social media and in Congress. In a post, California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, called the violence “disgusting, vile and reprehensible.”
— Close ally: Kirk had emerged in recent years as one of the most influential young right-wing figures in the country, and had established himself as a close ally of the president. Kirk co-founded the youth activist group Turning Point USA in 2012 and had become a fixture on college campuses, where he hosted rallies like the one in Utah, that often draw large crowds.
— White House influence: Even though he was not part of the administration, Kirk’s influence in the White House was significant. Since the November election, he had helped vet prospective appointees, testing their loyalty to Trump.
— Campus is closed: At least 1,000 people were attending the event at Utah Valley University when Kirk was shot, according to Trotter. He said the campus was closed after the shooting, and classes had been canceled until further notice.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.