Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and founder of conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was reportedly shot Wednesday at an event in Utah.
Witnesses at Utah Valley University in Orem reported seeing Kirk get shot in the neck during a Q&A with students. Kirk was scheduled to appear at a “Prove Me Wrong Table” at the university as part of his American Comeback Tour.
Kirk has built a career off of traveling to college campuses to engage students in debates about different controversial political topics, including advocating against gun control.
Kirk is reportedly in critical condition, according to America First Post, a conservative news outlet.
Despite a previous report that police had arrested a suspect, “the suspect is not in custody,” UVU spokesperson Scott Trotter said in a statement. “Police are still investigating. Campus is closed for the rest of the day.”
A livestream of the event captured the incident from a distance, showing a large crowd of people outside on campus, running and screaming.
President Donald Trump quickly issued a statement praying for Kirk’s swift recovery. “A great guy top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM,” the president wrote on Truth Social. Turning Point USA previously mobilized behind Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign.
JD Vance also issued a statement about the reported shooting. “Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,” he wrote on X.
And, weirdly enough, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu posted that he was “praying for” Kirk.
FBI Director Kash Patel published a statement that he was “closely monitoring reports” of the incident. “Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected. Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation,” Patel wrote on X.
Democratic activist David Hogg, a survivor of the Parkland school shooting and target of Kirk’s ire, also commented on the “horrifying news” that Kirk had been the victim of gun violence.
“Gun violence and political violence have to fucking stop,” Hogg wrote on X. “Charlie, his family, and all the students who had to witness the shooting are in my thoughts. We have disagreements, but we all agree something has to change.”
Earlier this year, Kirk mocked Hogg, saying that he was indistinguishable from a “survivor from a concentration camp.”
In 2023, Kirk said it was “worth” the cost of “some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.”
This story has been updated.
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