“Praying for my friend Charlie Kirk during this difficult time,” Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said on X. “The Department is actively investigating this senseless act of violence.” FBI agents were headed to the scene, Director Kash Patel said.
A statement from Utah Valley University said a “single shot was fired on campus toward a visiting speaker. Police are investigating now, suspect in custody.”
Videos on social media appeared to show shots fired at Kirk as he spoke from a stage around noon local time. A spokesman for Kirk didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pray for Charlie Kirk. He understood the risks and courageously put himself out there anyway. https://t.co/BkKZc6oDpi
— Dale Stark (@DaleStarkA10) September 10, 2025
“We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!” President Trump wrote on Truth Social. Trump was briefed by his advisers moments after reports of the shooting surfaced online, according to an administration official.
Utah Valley University is in Orem, Utah, in the north central part of the state, which overwhelmingly voted for Trump in 2024. Over 46,000 students are enrolled in the university, making it the largest in the state.
White House aides were solemn, some with tears in their eyes, as they scanned phones for news and watched coverage on television.
Kirk, 31, is one of the most influential figures on the right and founder of Turning Point USA, a powerful conservative youth organization active in over 3,500 college campuses.
Kirk hosts a popular podcast and is known for his “Prove Me Wrong” debates on college campuses where he engages in discussions with students on issues like gender, religion, and immigration. He has significant online reach, with over 7.3 million on TikTok.
He also played a prominent role in Trump’s outreach to young voters during the 2024 election.
Charlie Kirk was answering a question about rampant left-wing violence in America when he was shot today.
You can hear the crack of a rifle in this video from approximately 100 yards.
I am burning with righteous anger.
Pray right now for Charlie and his family. pic.twitter.com/XmQwEnvxng
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) September 10, 2025
“I want to express my tremendous gratitude to Charlie Kirk,” Trump said at a December 2024 Turning Point event. “He’s really an amazing guy. Amazing guy. And his whole staff for their relentless efforts to achieve this very historic victory. It’s such a great honor. It’s not my victory. It’s your victory.”
A college dropout, Kirk started his conservative activism in 2012 and turned his grassroots organization into a powerful political group that attracts world leaders and popular cultural figures on the right at his conferences.
