SEPTEMBER 12, 2025 | NEWS | By Sydney McGarr
Conservative political activist Charlie Kirk died after being shot in the neck at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Sept. 10.
A video posted to social media appears to show the moment Kirk was shot. A loud popping sound can be heard before Kirk recoils in his seat. In two close-range videos, blood can be seen coming from Kirk’s neck as he falls to the ground. At the time of the assassination, Kirk was speaking about gun violence.
A crowd member asked Kirk, “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America in the last 10 years?” to which Kirk responded, “counting or not counting gang violence?” seconds before he was shot.
According to officials, the shooting took place at 12:10 p.m. local time, 40 miles south of Salt Lake City.
The event, part of Kirk’s “American Comeback Tour,” was being held on an outdoor stage. Kirk was sitting in a tent featuring the words “American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong.”
Kirk, 31, rose to prominence in the conservative political sphere due to his strong social media presence. He founded Turning Point USA, an organization that sends conservative speakers to college campuses, in 2012. He was a strong ally of President Trump.
Trump posted about Kirk’s death on Truth Social, writing “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
FBI Director Kash Patel said that a suspect is in custody.
“The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody,” he said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. As of 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, no further information about the suspect was released.
Police have confirmed that a person originally taken into custody at the time of the event was not actually the shooter. The shooter is thought to have fired from the Losee Center, a building about 200 yards away from Kirk, according to a university spokesperson.
Kirk is the latest victim of a wave of political violence. Last month, Minnesota state lawmaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were assassinated in their home by a politically motivated shooter.
Former Vice President Kamala Harris posted on social media that she was “deeply disturbed by the shooting in Utah.”
“Let me be clear,” she wrote, “political violence has no place in America.”
Other lawmakers who publicly condemned the act include California Gov. Gavin Newsom, former President Joe Biden and Gabrielle Giffords, a former Arizona lawmaker wounded in a 2011 assassination attempt.
As of Sept. 10, Utah Valley University said on social media that it canceled classes and closed the university until further notice.
This is an ongoing story and will be updated. For the latest, see thecatalystnews.com.
Disclaimer: The Catalyst did not provide hyperlinks to the videos mentioned above due to their graphic nature.