Charlie Kirk, a Leader of the Right’s Higher-Ed-Reform Movement, Is Shot and Killed on a Utah Campus

Charlie Kirk, leader of Turning Point USA, an influential conservative organization known for its combative campus activism, was shot and killed Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University.

Kirk’s spokesperson confirmed his death to The New York Times. The 31-year-old had been in critical condition.

In videos circulating on social media, Kirk is seen sitting under a tent reading “Prove me wrong” under his “American Comeback” tour logo. While he holds a microphone, a single shot strikes Kirk on the left side of his neck. Kirk recoils as a large volume of blood flows from the gunshot wound.

Several videos on social media also show officers in Utah Valley University police uniforms forcibly escorting a man in handcuffs away from the event as onlookers shout, “How dare you!” In one video, a police officer holding onto the suspect’s left arm says, “He says he shot him, but I don’t know.”

The suspect shot from a building roughly 200 yards away, striking Kirk as he spoke to the large outdoor crowd. A university spokesperson had initially confirmed that the suspect was not a student, but The New York Times has since reported that the initial suspect arrested was not the shooter.

The Utah Valley campus has been closed indefinitely and classes have been canceled, according to a university alert. University police officers were going building to building on Wednesday to escort people off campus.

In the moments before Kirk was shot, he was fielding questions from the audience, according to one of the videos shared online. “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America in the last 10 years?” a member of the crowd asks, according to the video. “Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk said, the moment before he was shot.

Kirk became widely known for speaking on college campuses, often participating in debates, which had been the plan for Wednesday’s scheduled event. It was the first fall 2025 stop of Turning Point USA’s 15-destination tour across college campuses mostly in the Midwest and South. The American Comeback Tour was planning to head to Colorado State University for its next stop on September 18.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, said on X: “Those responsible will be held fully accountable.”

A new Utah state law that went into effect in May allows people 18 years old or older with a state concealed weapon permit to openly carry their weapons on public-college campuses. Previously, people who wanted to carry a firearm on campus had to conceal their weapons.

Turning Point USA, founded by Kirk in 2012, has been a thorn in colleges’ side for much of the past decade, leveraging confrontational videos and social media to try to make a point about higher education’s leftward tilt. With more than 800 campus chapters across the country, the group has sought to get professors punished or fired and influence student-government elections. Hundreds of campuses have Turning Point chapters.