According to Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason, the suspected shooter is college-age and blended in discreetly with the Utah Valley University community. Two people arrested were released and were not considered suspects.

The FBI has since released photos of a person of interest in the investigation. The appeal stated that they hope for the public's help in identifying the suspect. It was initially unclear how the suspect might be connected to the fatal shooting of Kirk. Shortly thereafter, the federal police also announced that they were offering a reward of up to $100,000 (approximately €85,000) for information leading to the identification or arrest of one or more possible perpetrators.

President Donald Trump announced he would posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States' highest civilian honor. Vice President J.D. Vance canceled a trip to New York to visit Kirk's family instead. While leaders of both parties condemned the violence, the assassination revealed the country's deep political divide: As members of the House of Representatives commemorated the attack, an uproar erupted after some Democrats questioned why assassinations of less prominent figures did not receive the same attention.

Important representative of the MAGA movement

Kirk, 31, was killed with a single gunshot on Wednesday at an event in front of around 3,000 people at the university in the conservative state. Investigators say the gunman arrived on campus minutes before the event began and climbed onto a nearby roof. Kirk, a staunch gun rights advocate, was answering a question from the audience about mass shootings when the bullet struck him in the neck. Footage of the incident showed spectators fleeing in panic.

Kirk was considered an influential conservative activist and a close ally of Trump. Millions followed his social media channels and podcasts. He frequently engaged in public debates and was adept at rhetoric. Kirk targeted a younger audience and founded the youth activist organization Turning Point USA in 2012, which is active in many high schools and colleges. He planned to appear at many more campuses in the coming weeks – under the motto"American Comeback."

He leaves behind a wife and two young children. The attack is part of a wave of political violence in the United States. According to an expert at the University of Maryland, there were around 150 politically motivated attacks in the first half of 2025, almost twice as many as in the same period last year."I think we're in a very, very dangerous situation right now," warned researcher Mike Jensen. Trump himself survived two assassination attempts.

Trump mourns and criticizes

The importance attributed to him in the center of power in Washington became clear after his death. It was US President Donald Trump himself who announced Kirk's death after the shooting. US Vice President J.D. Vance called Kirk a"true friend." Trump ordered the flags at the White House and embassies around the world to be flown at half-staff. This was followed by an address directly from the Oval Office of the White House to"all Americans," in which he criticized "radical leftists" who, according to him, had compared Americans like Kirk to"Nazis and the worst mass murderers and criminals in the world."

"This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism we are seeing in our country today, and it must stop immediately," Trump said. His administration will find anyone who contributed to this atrocity and other political violence. Not only Republicans expressed dismay at Kirk's death, but Democrats also condemned the act, including former President Joe Biden.

Vice President J.D. Vance planned to travel to Utah on Thursday to meet with Kirk's family. Vance will depart for Utah's capital, Salt Lake City, after a memorial ceremony in New York marking the 24th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, according to a source familiar with the matter. The US vice president will reportedly be accompanied by his wife, Usha Vance. The couple will visit Salt Lake City"to pay their respects to the family of Charlie Kirk," the source added.

FPÖ MEP Harald Vilimsky failed in his bid to have Kirk commemorated in the European Parliament. The denial of a minute's silence by the European People's Party (EPP) and Parliament President Roberta Metsola was"a slap in the face of all those who believe in the fundamental values of democracy," Vilimsky said in a press release."While a minute's silence was indeed held for the criminal George Floyd in the European Parliament in 2020, Charlie Kirk is being denied this honor, even though he intended to unite rather than divide through his act of dialogue and conversation," Vilimsky criticized the "obvious double standards" in the European Parliament.

Kirk met during gun violence discussion

Kirk was speaking at lunchtime Wednesday on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, south of Utah's capital, Salt Lake City, when he was shot. He was speaking at an outdoor event, sitting under a shade tent. Kirk had a large audience, and accordingly, many people witnessed the attack.

In videos recorded before the attack and posted on social media, Kirk can be heard being asked questions about gun violence in the US shortly before he himself is shot. The shooter is believed to have fired from a nearby rooftop. The FBI said it has video footage of the suspected shooter subsequently jumping from a building.