The conservative firebrand, 31, was chatting with college students when somebody opened hearth on the college on Wednesday, in keeping with officers.
Kirk’s situation stays unclear however the Trump ally was taken to a hospital, the place medical doctors are engaged on him, a supply acquainted with the state of affairs informed Each day Mail.
Horrific footage of the incident shared on social media confirmed Kirk’s neck violently snapping again after a shot rang out.
UVU officers stated the shot was fired from the highest of the Losee Middle, about 200 ft away from the place Kirk was sitting.
They initially took a person into custody who turned out to not be the shooter, police stated.
President Trump led tributes for the Turning Level USA co-founder after he gave the impression to be severely wounded on the occasion.
‘We should all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. An excellent man from prime to backside. GOD BLESS HIM!’ Trump stated on Reality Social.
Charlie Kirk has been shot within the neck at an occasion at Utah Valley College in Orem
The conservative firebrand, 31, was chatting with college students when somebody opened hearth on the college on Wednesday
Kirk, 31, is married and has two youngsters
Turning Level USA informed the Each day Caller ‘That is an ongoing state of affairs.’
‘We’re within the technique of confirming experiences that Charlie Kirk was shot. He’s within the hospital, and we’re praying for him right now.’
Sophie Anderson, 45, who was standing 100 ft from the stage when the capturing occurred, informed the Each day Mail that she virtually acquired trampled as she ran off into the meals court docket the place she hit in a closet.
’The second it occurred, I knew it was a gunshot,’ stated Anderson, who was joined on the occasion by her boss Phil Lyman, a former Utah state consultant who was handing out hats on stage with Kirk simply 5 minutes earlier.
’He was shot within the neck and simply fell over and he was only a fountain of blood,’ she stated. ‘They carried him off. All these youngsters are simply falling aside and bawling.’
A witness, Justin Hickens, informed NBC there have been no steel detectors on the occasion.
Kirk revealed a submit on X simply minutes earlier than experiences of the capturing emerged.
‘WE. ARE. SO. BACK,’ Kirk wrote at 2.23pm EST.
‘Utah Valley College is FIRED UP and READY for the primary cease again on the American Comeback Tour.’
Photographs from the scene confirmed the occasion on the crowd run as somebody fired a single shot
’He was shot within the neck and simply fell over and he was only a fountain of blood,’ a witness informed Each day Mail of the horrific capturing
Kirk revealed a submit on X simply minutes earlier than experiences of the capturing emerged
Utah Valley College evacuated the campus after the capturing and canceled courses till additional discover.
The occasion was the primary in Kirk’s ‘Nice American Comeback Tour.’
A web-based petition calling for college directors to bar Kirk from showing acquired practically 1,000 signatures.
The college issued an announcement final week citing First Modification rights and affirming its “dedication to free speech, mental inquiry, and constructive dialogue.”
Movies posted to social media from Utah Valley College present Kirk talking right into a handheld microphone whereas sitting underneath a white tent emblazoned with the slogans ‘The American Comeback’ and ‘Show Me Incorrect.’
Vice President JD Vance took to social media to ask for prayers for Kirk.
‘Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good man and a younger father,’ Vance wrote.
Republican Utah senator Mike Lee stated: ‘I’m monitoring the state of affairs at Utah Valley College carefully. Please be part of me in praying for Charlie Kirk and the scholars gathered there.’
Proper-wing pundit Candace Owens additionally reacted to the capturing.
President Trump led tributes to Kirk after he gave the impression to be severely wounded on the occasion
Kirk helped discovered Turning Level USA, a conservative nonprofit that has focuses on selling conservativism on college campuses
She wrote: ‘Everybody please cease what you might be doing and pray for Charlie Kirk. Please.’
‘Pray for Charlie Kirk,’ added fellow conservative pundit Michael Knowles.
Democratic California governor Gavin Newsom was one of many first liberals to ask for prayers for Kirk.
He wrote: ‘The assault on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the US of America, we should reject political violence in EVERY type.’
Beforehand named on Forbes 30 underneath 30 listing, Kirk was the youngest speaker on the 2016 Republican Nationwide Conference in addition to the opening speaker on the 2020 RNC.
Kirk is married to Erika Kirk and has two youngsters.
His podcast, The Charlie Kirk Present, reaches over 1 million individuals daily and has typically ranked among the many prime ten exhibits on Apple Information podcast charts.
Kirk helped discovered Turning Level USA, a conservative nonprofit that has focuses on selling conservativism on college campuses.
FBI Director Kash Patel stated the company is monitoring the state of affairs.
‘Our ideas are with Charlie, his family members, and everybody affected. Brokers might be on the scene shortly and the FBI stands in full help of the continued response and investigation,’ Patel stated on X.
