Police have a suspect in custody after the shooting of conservative activist and commentator Charlie Kirk.
Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA and a major backer of President Trump, was shot in the throat on his left side.
After the bullet hit him, blood spurted from his neck. Kirk, who was seated, fell to the ground. Kirk is in critical condition, The Associated Press reported.
Kirk, a 31-year-old husband and father of two, was shot at Utah Valley University (UVU). Minutes before he spoke, he posted this message to X:
Utah Valley University is FIRED UP and READY for the first stop back on the American Comeback Tour.
Kirk was shot as he addressed a question about mass shootings.
“Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?” someone asked.
“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk replied.
As Kirk finished, a bullet hit him in the neck. He jerked upward, then fell.
Justin Hicken, who was about 20 yards from Kirk, described what is for now an attempted murder, to NBC News.
“We heard a big loud shot, I saw a bunch of blood come out of Charlie, I saw his body kind of kick back and go limp, and everybody dropped to the ground.” Continued the network:
After a few moments, people started running out of the outdoor pavilion area, knocking over barricades. Hickens said he slowed down once he realized there were no more shots being fired and he felt safe.
“I kind of turned around and all of a sudden I saw officers walking with this very elderly gentleman with white hair,” Hickens said. “They had him arrested, they had him on his knees and he was screaming about his rights and all that stuff. They cuffed him and put him away.”
There [were] no metal detectors to get into the event, Hickens said, though there was security by Kirk himself.
Video shows an older white man, who appears to be the suspect, on his knees.
“I have the right to remain silent,” the man said.
Multiple X accounts claim to have identified the man, but as two different people.
The UVU campus was closed and classes were canceled after the shooting.
“We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot,” President Trump wrote on Truth Social:
A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!
“Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,” Vice President J.D. Vance wrote on X. “Dear God, protect Charlie in his darkest hour,” Vance added.
Top Democrats condemned the shooting.
“Political violence is NEVER acceptable,” U.S. House Democratic chieftain Hakeem Jeffries wrote on X. “My thoughts and prayers are with Charlie Kirk and his family.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who hosted Kirk on the first installment of his podcast, also spoke:
The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.