Charlie Kirk, a native of suburban Chicago and an influential young conservative closely allied with President Donald Trump, died Wednesday after he was shot at an event in Utah.
Trump confirmed Kirk’s death on Truth Social hours after he was shot.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump wrote. “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, who was born in Arlington Heights and attended Wheeling High School, was 31.
Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University, the college where the event was held, show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans, “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong.”
A single shot rings out, and Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as a large volume of blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators are heard gasping and screaming before people start to run away.
A person suspected in Kirk’s shooting was brought in for questioning and subsequently released, said FBI Director Kash Patel.
“Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected,” Patel said in a post on X.
The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency https://t.co/YXsG6YpFR5
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) September 10, 2025
Trump also ordered flags at the White House, public buildings and grounds, and military posts to be flown at half-staff until Sunday.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker also responded to the shooting on X, calling the attack “horrifying.”
“Political violence has no place in this country and should never become the norm,” Pritzker wrote.
U.S. Rep. Darin LaHood, a Republican, described the fatal shooting as a, “heinous act of political violence,” in a statement.
“Charlie was a husband and father to two young children before anything else. He did not deserve to die because of his ideological views. Elected officials, the media, and we as Americans must hold ourselves to a higher standard and work to ease the political tensions that have embroiled our nation. My prayers remain with Charlie’s family and loved ones in light of this tragedy,” LaHood said in the statement.
Former President George W. Bush released a statement through his presidential center’s X account, saying Kirk was killed while expressing his political views.
“Violence and vitriol must be purged from the public square. Members of other political parties are not our enemies; they are our fellow citizens,” the statement read.
Classes at the university were canceled and the campus was closed until further notice, the school announced. Students who were on campus were told to shelter in place until police can escort them off campus.
Kirk founded Turning Point USA, a conservative group with chapters at many high schools and colleges across the country.
Turning Point USA posted a statement on X confirming Kirk’s death and asking for prayers for Kirk’s family.
“May he be received into the merciful arms of our loving Savior, who suffered and died for Charlie,” the statement read.
Kirk was married to Erika Frantzve Kirk, a former Miss Arizona pageant queen. The couple has two children.
Last year, he spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. At the convention, he said Trump would reverse the “fake, pathetic, mutilated version of the American dream” that he said existed under former President Joe Biden.
A spike in political violence
The shooting comes amid a spike in political violence in the United States across all parts of the ideological spectrum. The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade to demand Hamas release hostages, and a fire set at the house of Pennsylvania’s governor, who is Jewish, in April. The most notorious of these events was the attempted assassination of Trump during a campaign rally last year.
Pritzker acknowledged recent high-profile acts of political violence and blamed Trump for stirring up violence, using his decision to pardon people who were charged or convicted for their role in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol as an example.
“We’ve seen other political violence occur in other states, and I would just say, it’s got to stop,” Pritzker said while addressing reporters. “And I think there are people who are fomenting it in this country. I think the president’s rhetoric often foments it.”
Former Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, a Republican who was at the event, said in an interview on Fox News Channel that he heard one shot and saw Kirk go back.
“It seemed like it was a close shot,” Chaffetz said, who seemed shaken as he spoke.
Contributing: AP, Tina Sfondeles