Charlie Kirk, a prominent US right-wing activist and close ally of President Donald Trump, who repeatedly urged Washington to end military and financial support for Ukraine, was shot and killed Wednesday, Sept. 10, during a student event at Utah Valley University. He was 31.
What happened?
The shooting occurred during a debate-style appearance on campus. Video from the event showed Kirk speaking on stage when shots were fired. The university said he was the only victim. Kirk was rushed from the scene with his security detail and later died at a hospital. The campus was evacuated shortly after the attack.
Trump confirmed Kirk’s death in a post on Truth Social, calling him a “legendary” figure.
Charlie Kirk has died — Trump
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) September 10, 2025
Videos show that Kirk was going back and forth with a student about mass shootings and transgender people when he was shot.
“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” Kirk was asked.
“Too many,” Kirk responded as the crowd clapped.
“Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?” To which Kirk replied, “Counting or not counting gang violence?”
Moments later, Kirk was hit in the neck and collapsed from his chair.
Kirk’s wife and children were present at the event.
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk, head of Turning Point USA, was just shot in the neck during a press conference in Utah.
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) September 10, 2025
He has been hospitalized, US media report.
A spokesperson for the university said Kirk was hit by a shot fired from the roof of the school’s Losee Center, a campus building about 100-200 yards (91-183 meters) from the event area, Al Jazeera reported.
It was not clear whether the shot was fired from a rooftop or an open window.
Police said a suspect, described as an older man, was taken into custody. Officials have not released his identity or a possible motive.
Currently, the campus is closed, according to the university, and it will remain closed from September 11 to 14.
Who was Charlie Kirk?
Kirk, born in 1993 in the Chicago suburbs, founded the conservative student group Turning Point USA in 2012. Under his leadership, the organization grew into one of the largest right-wing youth movements in the country, with chapters on thousands of campuses and millions of followers online.
He later expanded the brand through Turning Point Action, Turning Point Academy and Turning Point Faith, while hosting the nationally syndicated Charlie Kirk Show. A regular guest on Fox News, Kirk often positioned himself as a critic of mainstream and many conservative Republicans who, he argued, failed to represent their base.
Kirk’s visit to Utah was part of his “American Comeback Tour,” a nationwide speaking series built around debates with students under the slogan “Prove me wrong.” More than 800 people had signed a petition urging the university to cancel the event, citing his controversial stances.
Kirk developed a close friendship with Donald Trump, Jr., the president’s eldest son, and the two traveled together to Greenland in January. He also emerged early as a vocal supporter of Vice President JD Vance while Trump was considering him as a potential running mate.
Kirk amassed 5.5 million followers on X and hosted The Charlie Kirk Show, a podcast and radio program with a monthly audience of more than 500,000.
Known for anti-Ukraine stance
Kirk was known for his vocal opposition to US military and financial aid to Ukraine, frequently advancing pro-Russian talking points. Ukrainian media reported he had called President Volodymyr Zelensky a “CIA puppet” and claimed that eastern Ukraine “historically belongs to Russia.”
After the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Kirk characterized the War in Ukraine as a “border dispute” and spread false claims from Russian state media that Ukrainian forces were firing mortar shells at a Russian separatist enclave in Ukraine, as per the New York Times.
“I don’t love the idea of sending arms to Ukraine.” Kirk said on his show.
“I can understand that to a certain extent, but further funding a kinetic conflict against Russia and the Russian Federation is not our fight, not our conflict”
He criticized the US government for giving money and weapons to a country that “few people can find on a map.”
Kirk believed that Washington was “wrong” to view Russia as an enemy, even though he “does not like the Russian Federation or Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.”
Kirk also stated that the Ukrainian “military-industrial complex” and the oligarchs of Ukraine’s ruling class would benefit from the war.
