Fox News contributor Jason Chaffetz gave his account of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk being shot at a Utah Valley University event on Wednesday.
"I was up kind of on the second level because I wanted to be in the shade, but our daughter was there, son-in-law was there," Chaffetz recounted. "My wife was there. Friends. This is our community. You know, there’s 2,000 or so people. Utah Valley University is our largest university, 40,000 students and people came out to hear the dialogue, the back-and-forth, ask him anything. That’s what Turning Point and Charlie Kirk is all about, ask him anything."
He said that the first question at the event was about religion and went on for "about 15 to 20 minutes." The second question, the one right before Kirk was shot, Chaffetz noted, was about "transgender mass shooters."
Charlie Kirk, founder and president of Turning Point USA, speaks during the Republican National Convention seen on a laptop computer in Tiskilwa, Illinois, U.S., on Monday, Aug. 24, 2020. (Daniel Acker/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
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"I happened to be watching Charlie. I can’t say I saw blood. I can’t say I saw him get shot, but as soon as that shot went out, he fell back and to his left and everybody hit the deck. A lot of people started screaming. And then everybody started running as you might expect. There was some police presence, but there was no security check going in. It didn’t happen. Charlie has some security in front of him. But you got this sense that the shot came straight at him," Chaffetz said.
"I just hope and pray that somehow, some way he survives this," he added.
Chaffetz described the event as largely peaceful prior to the shooting, saying that even protesters were "not disruptive and very respectful."
Though still mostly "in shock" at what occurred, the former Utah representative wondered if politics was a factor in the shooting.
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Jason Chaffetz described seeing Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk falling to his side after being shot during the Utah Valley University event. (Tom Williams/Roll Call via Getty Images)
"Orem, Utah is one of the safest places on the planet, so we just don’t have these types of things. We don’t have murderers let alone shootings, let alone something of this magnitude and like I said, there was a light police presence. I am sure, I hope, there was some undercover people. Charlie has his own bit of security, but not to deal with a couple thousand people that were there to see Charlie," Chaffetz said.
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He added, "I think when this story is written, I don’t think it was a coincidence that the shot rang out when you have a question about transgender mass shootings. Hopefully I am wrong. I will probably get criticized for jumping to conclusions, but I am just telling you in the 30 minutes or so, I don’t think that is a coincidence, but we will see."
Political figures on both sides of the aisle called out violence in the wake of the Charlie Kirk shooting. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Chaffetz also complimented Kirk's organization and political efforts to reach out to the next generation.
"He is one of a kind. I really thought that years from now we would be saying president Charlie Kirk because for a generation, no one speaks to them like he does. He has built a coalition and is based on policy and argument. And it’s based on a belief and challenging people, and he was stimulating a younger generation who wasn’t getting it in the classroom."