Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organisation Turning Point USA, has died after being shot at an event at a Utah college, United States President Donald Trump announced on social media. He was 31.

“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social.

Video of the incident circulating on social media showed Kirk addressing a large outdoor crowd when a loud crack that sounded like a gunshot rang out. Kirk can be seen briefly moving his hand to his neck as he falls off his chair, sending the attendees running.

He was brought to the hospital in critical condition. Trump’s announcement on social media has not yet been confirmed by media.

Orem, Utah, Mayor David Young said the suspect in the shooting remains at large. Authorities are not telling people to shelter in place, however. A person who was taken into custody at Utah Valley University was not the suspect, according to a person familiar with the investigation who was not authorised to speak publicly.

FBI Director Kash Patel said agents would be on the scene quickly.

“We are closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University,” Patel said on X shortly after the shooting. “Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected.”

Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political organisation. The event had divided opinions on campus. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures.

The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue”.

Spike in political violence

Kirk played a key role in driving youth support for President Trump in November. His events at college campuses nationwide typically draw large crowds.

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.”

The shooting comes amid a spike in political violence in the US 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 rally for Israeli captives in Gaza, and an arson attack in April on the Pennsylvania governor’s home.

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

Questioned about mass shootings

Immediately before the shooting, Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence.

“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” an audience member asked. Kirk responded: “Too many.”

The questioner followed up: “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”

“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk asked.

Then a single shot rang out.

Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit to Utah colleges was sparking controversy. He wrote, “What’s going on in Utah?”

Turning Point was founded in suburban Chicago in 2012 by Kirk, then 18, and William Montgomery, a Tea Party activist, to proselytise 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.

Trump said on social media he had ordered US flags flown at half-staff through the week to honour Kirk.

“In honour of Charlie Kirk, a truly Great American Patriot, I am ordering all American Flags throughout the United States lowered to Half Mast until Sunday evening at 6 PM,” Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.