(UPDATE, 2:44 pm) President Donald Trump posted the following message on TruthSocial:
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!
Kirk was shot Wednesday afternoon while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah.
WATCH THE VIDEO:
Kirk was taken to a hospital in critical condition immediately after the shooting, and died of his injuries just hours later.
Mayor David Young of Orem, Utah, said the shooter was still at large as of Wednesday afternoon. Authorities are continuing to search for the suspect. The city's residents are not under shelter in place orders while the search goes on.
Police initially announced they had apprehended one person at the scene of the shooting, who was later determined not to be the suspect.
Other details about the suspected shooter or any of their motivations are not yet clear.
We will update you as we get more information.
(1st REPORT, 1:03 pm) Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot during a speaking event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah on Wednesday, according to school officials.
According to an emergency alert issued by the school, the incident involved a single gunshot. A suspect is in custody and police say they are investigating the shooting.
“We are confirming that he was shot and we are praying for Charlie,” said Aubrey Laitsch, public relations manager for Kirk's organization Turning Point USA.
School officials told Scripps News Salt Lake City gunshots were fired from the top of a building on campus approximately 200 yards from where Kirk was speaking from under a tent.
The shooting occurred about 20 minutes after Kirk began speaking, at roughly 12:10 local time. Kirk "was hit and taken from the location by his security," Utah Valley University said in a statement.
Videos posted on social media and reviewed by the Associated Press show the moment of the shooting in the Sorensen Center courtyard on the Utah Valley University campus. A single shot is heard, and Kirk can be seen reaching for his bleeding neck.
Details about Kirk's condition were not immediately available.
Former Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz told Fox News Wednesday Kirk was answering a question about transgender mass shooters when the shooting occurred.
Details about the suspected shooter or any of their motivations are not yet clear.
Kirk is the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA, a youth organization founded to advance conservative politics on American college and high school campuses.
President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for prayers for Kirk.
"A great guy from top to bottom," President Trump wrote. "GOD BLESS HIM!"
Utah's Republican Gov. Spencer Cox said he had been briefed on the shooting and said "those responsible will be held fully accountable."
Utah Valley University is in Orem, Utah, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City. It is the largest public university in the state, with nearly 47,000 students.
Kirk, 31, often engages in spirited and sometimes testy debates with people from different sides of the political aisle. Kirk was recently invited as one of the first guests on California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's podcast, with the two discussing a wide range of political topics and their different views on the direction of the country.
Kirk was also front-and-center at the inauguration of President Donald Trump earlier this year and has frequently appeared alongside Republican politicians at rallies and fundraising events.
His stop Wednesday at Utah Valley University was part of his "The American Comeback Tour," where he engages students through political debates under tents branded with phrases like "Prove Me Wrong." Kirk's events have attracted hundreds of attendees while his social media videos of interactions with participants have garnered tens of millions of views online.
The events, however, have been both widely attended and widely protested by people who disagree with his takes on hot-button issues like abortion, LGBTQ+ rights, immigration and the Black Lives Matter movement. Prior to Wednesday's shooting, Kirk was scheduled to host another event at Colorado State University next week.
