Charlie Kirk dies after being shot on stage at Utah college

OREM, Utah — Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump, died Wednesday after being shot at a college event, Trump said.

The co-founder and CEO of the youth organization Turning Point USA, the 31-year-old Kirk is the latest victim in a spasm of political violence across the United States.

A suspect is in custody, according to a social media post from FBI Director Kash Patel. Officials, however, have provided no details about who may have shot Kirk and the governor of Utah referred to the suspect as "a person of interest."

SEE ALSO: Outrage in NJ over shooting of Charlie Kirk

Trump also ordered flags to be lowered in honor of Kirk until Sept. 14.

Videos capture shooting of Charlie Kirk on stage

Disturbing video posted below. [WARNING: Graphic video shared online.]

Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong.”

A single shot rings out and Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as a large volume of blood gushes from the left side of his neck.

Stunned spectators are heard gasping and screaming before people start to run away. The AP was able to confirm the videos were taken at Sorensen Center courtyard on the Utah Valley University campus.

The shooting occurred as Kirk was talking with an audience member

Videos on social media show a questioner asking Kirk if he knew “how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years.”

“Too many,” Kirk responded, eliciting cheers from the crowd. Kirk is one of many right-wing activists who have said transgender people should be restricted from owning guns.

The questioner said the answer is five, but that, “five is a lot … I’m going to give you some credit.”

He then asked, “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”

Kirk responded, “Counting or not counting gang violence?” — at which point the gunshot rang out.

The president of Dartmouth College says a Kirk invite to that campus was in demand

Dartmouth College President Sian Beilock says a bipartisan student group invited Kirk to that Ivy League campus for a Sept. 25 event.

Beilock says the event "was sold out within 10 minutes.”

Beilock made the comment during a media event Wednesday with other college presidents.

Trump, Vance ask for prayers for conservative activist Charlie Kirk

President Donald Trump and a host of Republican elected officials offered prayers for Kirk on social media.

“We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Vice President JD Vance posted on X asking followers to pray for Charlie Kirk.

“Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,” Vance said.

Victims of political violence show support for Kirk

Former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, posted that “the horrific shooting today at Utah Valley University is reprehensible. Political violence has absolutely no place in our nation.” Pelosi’s husband was seriously injured in 2022 by a man wielding a hammer, who authorities said was a believer in conspiracy theories.

Former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who suffered a serious brain injury in a 2011 shooting in Arizona, said she was “horrified” to hear of Kirk’s shooting. “Democratic societies will always have political disagreements, but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence,” she said on social media.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat and potential national candidate, said, “We must speak with moral clarity. The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying and this growing type of unconscionable violence cannot be allowed in our society.” A fire was set at his house.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who was the subject of a kidnapping plot, said on social media that “we should all come together to stand up against any and all forms of political violence.” Two men were imprisoned for their 2020 plot to kidnap the governor during her first term.

Political violence across America

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 parade to demand Hamas release hostages, and a fire set at the house of Pennsylvania’s governor, who is Jewish, in April.

The most notorious of these events is the shooting of President Donald Trump during a campaign rally last year.

WARNING: Videos contains violence

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, who seemed shaken as he spoke.

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.”

What is Turning Point, Charlie Kirk's organization?

Turning Point was founded in suburban Chicago in 2012 by Kirk, then 18, and William Montgomery, a tea party activist, to proselytize on college campuses for low taxes and limited government. It was not an immediate success.

But Kirk’s zeal for confronting liberals in academia eventually won over an influential set of conservative financiers.

Despite early misgivings, Turning Point enthusiastically backed Trump after he clinched the GOP nomination in 2016. Kirk served as a personal aide to Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, during the general election campaign.

Soon, Kirk was a regular presence on cable TV, where he leaned into the culture wars and heaped praise on the then-president. Trump and his son were equally effusive and often spoke at Turning Point conferences.

This is a breaking news story. More details will be added as they are confirmed.