UTAH, US: Police are searching for the gunman who fatally shot Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump, during a campus event in Utah. The killing has shocked the American right and raised concerns of escalating political violence ahead of the 2026 elections.
TO MY GREAT FELLOW AMERICANS… pic.twitter.com/oRsrE5TTHr
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2025
US media reports said Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA, the country’s largest conservative youth organisation, was addressing students at Utah Valley University on Wednesday when a single gunshot rang out. Witnesses said the shot appeared to have come from a nearby rooftop.
Kirk, the head of the largest conservative youth movement in the United States, which he co-founded in 2012 at the age of 18, was speaking around noon on the campus of Utah Valley University. #CharlieKirk #Trump #Utah https://t.co/3A66I9LPfG
— Sinar Daily (@sinardailymy) September 11, 2025
Video from the event showed Kirk collapsing as screams erupted and audience members fled for cover. He was rushed away on a stretcher but later pronounced dead.
A targeted attack
Authorities described the shooting as a “targeted attack.” Utah’s Department of Public Safety said the suspected gunman, dressed in black, fired from a campus rooftop overlooking the student courtyard where Kirk was speaking.
Initial reports of Charlie Kirk’s shooter being an elderly man were wrong. A man was taken into custody for the assassination of Charlie Kirk and then released. The actual sniper was 600 feet away and located in a campus building. As news comes in that Kirk died from the shot to… pic.twitter.com/EWvWUPCdlb
— Samantha Ettus (@samanthaettus) September 10, 2025
Two men were briefly detained but later released without charges. One individual, George Zinn, was held for obstruction but police said neither man was tied to the killing. The FBI has joined the investigation.
FBI Director Kash Patel initially suggested a suspect was in custody but later clarified that the person had been released after interrogation. “Our investigation continues,” Patel said on X.
Trump reacts: ‘A martyr for truth’
The killing triggered a swift and emotional response from President Trump, who hailed Kirk as a “martyr for truth” and ordered flags at government buildings, including the White House, to be flown at half-staff until Sunday.
“This is a dark moment for America,” Trump said in a video message from the Oval Office, blaming the “radical left” for creating what he called a climate of hate.
🚨📢 This was a professional hit from 500 feet away and the man arrested was not the actual shooter who was positioned on the roof with a high-powered rifle and fatally hit Charlie Kirk in the throat. A witness articulated this on Fox News and was abruptly cut off by HQ! 🚨📢 pic.twitter.com/siGm6dxXwa
— linqsikks (@linqsikks) September 11, 2025
“For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst criminals. This rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism we are seeing in our country today,” he said.
The president vowed to crack down not only on the shooter but also on organisations and individuals he accused of fostering political violence.
Fears of wider unrest
Kirk’s killing comes at a volatile moment in US politics, where partisan tensions have been running high. Analysts say the assassination of such a visible right-wing figure could inflame divisions further.
Democratic leaders, including Vice President Kamala Harris, condemned the attack. “Political violence has no place in America,” Harris said.
Charlie Kirk 31 dies from single gunshot to the neck •
Suspect is in Custody •
Utah Valley College tour pic.twitter.com/Hf2lyyiks3— Eat Ezekiel Cannabis Leaf🍃then God Heals Nations (@MimiTexasAngel) September 10, 2025
Kirk, who had built a strong following among conservative youth since co-founding Turning Point USA at age 18, was due to speak at more than a dozen events nationwide in the coming weeks.
For Trump, the loss is both personal and political. “No one understood or had the heart of the youth in the United States better than Charlie,” the president wrote.
The killer remains at large.
