Conservative activist Charlie Kirk assassinated at Utah university
Press conference we will first hear from Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Be Mason. Then we’ll hear from the FBI special agent in charge, Robert Bowles. Uh, we’ll then hear from Utah Valley University Vice President Val Peterson, who’s been in touch with President Timenez. And then we’ll hear from Governor Cox, turn the time over to Commissioner Mason. Hello everyone I’m Bo Mason, commissioner for the Utah Department of Public Safety. Today at approximately 12:20 Mountain Standard Time. Political influencer Charlie Kirk was shot in an event at the Utah Valley University. He was taken by private vehicle to Timpanoga’s Hospital where he later passed. The Utah Department of Public Safety will be co-leading this criminal investigation to find this killer along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We’re working in unison with the county sheriff’s office, the local police department, and the university police department, all of which have been very cooperative and fully engaged in this process. Shortly after the shooting, we did have *** suspect in custody, George Zinn. But he was released from custody after we identified that he did not match the shooting suspect, um, and was not an accurate person of interest. However, he has been booked into the uh county jail by Utah Valley University Police Department for obstruction of justice. We do still have an active investigation for the person of interest. This incident occurred with *** large crowd around. There was one shot fired and 11 victim. While the suspect is at large, we believe this was *** targeted attack towards one individual. This is *** tragic moment in our state and in our country. As we heal, we encourage everyone who’s struggling with news of the incident to call 988, our state mental health crisis line. In addition to that, our partners with the FBI will also be discussing other ways we can communicate through the public for tips and other information. Thank you. Good afternoon On behalf of the FBI, we extend our sincerest condolences to the family and friends of Charlie Kirk. Our thoughts are also with the people who witnessed this traumatic event. We know that you, what you experienced was very difficult. Our thoughts are with you as well. As soon as we heard about the shooting, special agents and personnel from the Salt Lake Field Office. Responded immediately. We have full resources devoted to this investigation, including tactical, operational, investigative, and intelligence. To be clear, the FBI will fully support and co-lead this investigation alongside with our partners. We’re working on setting up *** digital media tip line and as soon as it’s established, we’ll get that information out to everyone. I know there’s *** lot of questions. This is very much an active case and this investigation is in its early stages. We are following all the leads and all the evidence. If anyone has any information, please report it to the FBI or local law enforcement. Thank you. On behalf of President Tenez, who we’ve been communicating with and she’s on her way back right now, I, um, say that on behalf of Utah Valley University we are shocked and saddened by the tragic passing of Charlie Kirk. We express our sincere condolences to the Kirk family. We grieve with our students, faculty and staff who bore witness to this unspeakable tragedy. He was invited by the student group Turning Point USA to speak on our campus. We firmly believe that UVU is *** place to share ideas and to debate openly and respectfully. Any attempt to infringe on those rights has no place here. We do not condone any form of violence at UVU and seek to make our campus *** safe place for all. Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us on this uh on this dark and and tragic occasion. I wanna thank our law enforcement officers who are leading this investigation, starting with Chief Long, uh, and, and his, uh, his response here with the UVU police department. Um, we’re grateful for your leadership and, uh, and your team, and again to the, the speakers that you’ve just heard from who are are co-leading this investigation. I also want to uh recognize Sheriff Mike Smith who has been an invaluable partner as uh as this investigation moves forward. I’ve been in touch with uh with with President Trump, with FBI Director Cash Patel, um, we are completely aligned with our state and federal partners as uh as we work through this case now. This is *** dark day for our state. It’s *** tragic day for our nation. I want to be very clear that this is *** political assassination. We are. Celebrating 250 years of the founding of this great nation. That founding document, the Declaration of Independence. That this this great experiment on which we embarked together 250 years ago that we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights. The first one of those is life. And today, *** life was taken. Charlie Kirk was first and foremost. *** husband and *** dad to two young children. He was also Very much politically involved and that’s why he was here on campus. Charlie believed in the power of free speech and debate. To shape ideas. And to persuade people. Historically Our university campuses in this nation and here in the state of Utah have been the place where truth and ideas are formulated and debated. And that’s what he does. He comes on college campuses and he debates. That is foundational to the formation of our country. To our most basic constitutional rights. And when someone takes the life of *** person. Because of their ideas or their ideals. Then that very constitutional foundation is threatened. Now we have *** person of interest in custody. The investigation is ongoing. But I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this. We will find you. We will try you And we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law. And I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty here in the state of Utah. Our nation is broken. We’ve had Political assassinations recently in Minnesota. We had an attempted assassination on the governor of Pennsylvania. And we had an attempted assassination. On *** presidential candidate and former president of the United States and now current president of the United States. Nothing I say can unite us as *** country. Nothing I can say right now can fix what is broken. Nothing I can say can bring back Charlie Kirk. Our hearts are broken. We mourn. With his wife, his children, his family, his friends, we mourn as *** nation. If anyone in the sound of my voice. Celebrated even *** little bit at the news of this shooting. I would beg you To look in the mirror. And to see if you can find *** better angel in there somewhere. I don’t care what his politics are. I care that he was an American. We desperately need our country. We desperately need leaders in our country, but more than the leaders we just need every single person in this country. To think about where we are and where we want to be. To ask ourselves, is this, is this it? Is this what 250 years has wrought on us? I pray that that’s not the case. I pray that those who hated. What Charlie Cook stood for. We put down their social media and their pens. And pray for his family. And that all of us. All of us will try to find *** way to stop hating our fellow Americans. With that we’re happy to take *** few questions. The FBI director is posting that *** that *** suspect is in custody. I would just like clarification. Do you or do you not have *** suspected shooter? We have *** person of interest in custody that is being interviewed right now. We do not that is not George Zim. That is correct. Are you still searching or looking for another shooter or anybody else related to this? Yes, we are actively looking for anyone and everyone who has any any possible information relating to the shooting. Can you tell us details about the suspect being taken into custody, where, you know, how long ago. We, we cannot at this point, but we will get you that information when when we can. Is there believed to be *** second individual involved in the shooting? At this point there is no information that would lead us to believe that there is *** second person involved. Can you guys talk. Um, we. Do you want to talk about what we know there? Yeah. The only information we have on on the suspect, uh, the possible shooter is taken from closed circuit TV here on campus. Um, we do have that we’re, we’re analyzing it, um, but it is security camera footage so you can, you can, uh, kind of guess what the, what the quality of that is, um, but we do know, uh, dressed in, in all, all dark clothing, uh, but we don’t have *** much better description other than that. The shot came from here on campus, um, from, uh, *** location, um. And *** Uh, potentially from *** roof, yes, and longer distance shot from *** roof. So to clarify with the security camera footage you have and the personal interest that’s in custody, do those, does that match up? That’s what we’re trying to decipher right now. Did the FBI or DHS have anything on the threat for this morning? I can’t speak I’ll just say that the investigation is ongoing and as soon as we have further information, we will be sure to release it. Any indications of foreign intelligence involvement? As of now I can’t comment on any of that. Can you talk *** little about the security of the event itself, but who was there security wise and, and what happens on these kind of events. So my name is Jeff Long. I’m the police chief here at UVU, and I’ll tell you right now we’re devastated. We’re *** small, uh, small police department. Uh, we have *** very large campus. We have over 40,000 students, and we love our students. Uh, we love our visitors and we’re, we’re devastated by what happened today. This is the police chief’s nightmare. Um, I’m, I’m very saddened for the Kirk family. um, I know his, uh. His wife and parents, uh, found out about this, you know, obviously he’s away from home. He’s here in Utah they find out, uh, by police officer, uh, that that visits their home. That’s tragic. Nobody wants that, but I can tell you about our venue today. This was an open venue. This is outside. Uh, we did have, um, 6 officers working in that event. Um, we had, uh, probably over 3000 people that were in attendance, um, it sat down in kind of *** bowl area here on the central campus. We have *** waterfall area. And so he was uh kind of in *** *** lower area, uh, surrounded by uh by buildings, um, you know, we, we had, um, uh, some plain clothes police officers that were in the crowd as well, you know, we trained for these things and and you think you, you, you have things covered and um. You know, these things, um, you, you know, unfortunately they happen. You try to get, you try to get your bases covered and unfortunately today we didn’t and because of that we had this tragic incident, so we did have officers there. We had, uh, Charlie Kirk’s team, um, he has *** security team that travels with him and they were here with him when, when he, when he was shot. I’m sorry, the recovered. Um, I, at this point, I, I, I can’t disclose that. I was shot. There was *** question being asked about mass shooting. Was that person apprehended? And do you know who asked that question? Say the question again. I don’t know if I understand what you’re saying. When Charlie Kirk was shot, he was answering *** question about mass shootings specifically. Was that person apprehended and do you know who asked that question? Uh, I do not, we do not have that at this moment. ladies and gentlemen, we have time for just one more question, so thank you. Yeah, um, *** question for the chief as well, um, was it your team or Kirk’s team or *** combination of both that kind of set the security protocol for the event? So we worked together, you know, he has his team and and they do this all over the country we all know that this is not uncommon for them uh they’re very comfortable on campuses and I was coordinating with his lead security guy and, um, uh, so yeah, we were working together. Was this *** sharpshooter type shot? Ladies and gentlemen, that’s that’s, um, those are all the questions that will be answered today um again, thank you for for covering this. uh, we will be, uh, we’ll be updating you as soon as we have additional information through uh through normal channels working with law enforcement again our. Our deepest condolences uh to the uh to the Kirk family and uh and to the students who were who were there today um and uh I would, I would just ask everyone everywhere to please pray for their family and uh and to pray for our country and we need it now more than ever thank you.
Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, was shot and killed Wednesday at a Utah college event in what the governor called a political assassination carried out from a rooftop.”This is a dark day for our state. It’s a tragic day for our nation,” said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. “I want to be very clear, this is a political assassination.” No suspect was in custody late Wednesday, though authorities were searching for a new person of interest, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the situation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. Two people were detained earlier in the day, but neither was determined to have had any connection to the shooting, and both have been released, Utah public safety officials said. Authorities did not immediately identify a motive, but the circumstances of the shooting drew renewed attention to an escalating threat of political violence in the United States that in the last several years has cut across the ideological spectrum. The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive.In a video statement published to Truth Social on Wednesday night, Trump said he was “filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination.””Charlie inspired millions, and tonight, all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror,” Trump said. Trump called Kirk “a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loved so much, the United States of America.””He fought for liberty, democracy, justice, and the American people,” Trump added.Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University 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. The Associated Press was able to confirm the videos were taken at Sorensen Center courtyard on the Utah Valley University campus. Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political organization. Immediately before the shooting, Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence.”Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” an audience member asked. Kirk responded, “Too many.”The questioner followed up: “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?””Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk asked.Then a single shot rang out. The shooter, who Cox pledged would be held accountable in a state with the death penalty, wore dark clothing and fired from a roof on campus some distance away. The death was announced on social media by Trump, who praised the 31-year-old Kirk, the co-founder and CEO of the youth organization Turning Point USA, as “Great, and even Legendary.” Later Wednesday, he released a recorded video from the White House in which he called Kirk a “martyr for truth and freedom” and blamed the rhetoric of the “radical left” for the killing.”No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account. Utah Valley University said the campus was immediately evacuated and remained closed. Classes were canceled until further notice. Those still on campus were asked to stay in place until police officers could safely escort them off campus. Armed officers walked around the neighborhood bordering the campus, knocking on doors and asking for information on the shooter.Officers were seen looking at a photo on their phones and showing it to people to see if they recognized a person of interest.The event, billed as the first stop on Kirk’s “The American Comeback Tour,” had generated a polarizing campus reaction. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures. The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.”Related video below: Law enforcement on a roof near where Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at Utah college eventLast week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit was sparking controversy. He wrote, “What’s going on in Utah?”The shooting drew swift bipartisan condemnation, with Democratic officials joining Trump, who ordered flags lowered to half-staff and issued a presidential proclamation, and Republican allies of Kirk in decrying the violence.”The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible,” Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who last March hosted Kirk on his podcast, posted on X.”The murder of Charlie Kirk breaks my heart. My deepest sympathies are with his wife, two young children, and friends,” said Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was wounded in a 2011 shooting in her Arizona district. The shooting appeared poised to become part of a spike of political violence that has cut across the political 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 is the shooting of Trump during a campaign rally last year. Former Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, a Republican who was at Wednesday’s 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.He said there was a light police presence at the event, and Kirk had some security, but not enough.Related video below: Charlie Kirk dead after being shot at Utah college event”Utah is one of the safest places on the planet,” he said. “And so we just don’t have these types of things.”Turning Point was founded in suburban Chicago in 2012 by Kirk, then 18, and William Montgomery, a Tea Party activist, to proselytize on college campuses for low taxes and limited government. It was not an immediate success.But Kirk’s zeal for confronting liberals in academia eventually won over an influential set of conservative financiers.Despite early misgivings, Turning Point enthusiastically backed Trump after he clinched the GOP nomination in 2016. Kirk served as a personal aide to Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, during the general election campaign.Soon, Kirk was a regular presence on cable TV, where he leaned into the culture wars and heaped praise on the then-president. Trump and his son were equally effusive and often spoke at Turning Point conferences.
Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, was shot and killed Wednesday at a Utah college event in what the governor called a political assassination carried out from a rooftop.
“This is a dark day for our state. It’s a tragic day for our nation,” said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. “I want to be very clear, this is a political assassination.”
No suspect was in custody late Wednesday, though authorities were searching for a new person of interest, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the situation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity. Two people were detained earlier in the day, but neither was determined to have had any connection to the shooting, and both have been released, Utah public safety officials said.
Authorities did not immediately identify a motive, but the circumstances of the shooting drew renewed attention to an escalating threat of political violence in the United States that in the last several years has cut across the ideological spectrum. The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive.
In a video statement published to Truth Social on Wednesday night, Trump said he was “filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination.”
“Charlie inspired millions, and tonight, all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror,” Trump said.
Trump called Kirk “a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loved so much, the United States of America.”
“He fought for liberty, democracy, justice, and the American people,” Trump added.
Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University 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. The Associated Press was able to confirm the videos were taken at Sorensen Center courtyard on the Utah Valley University campus.
Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political organization. Immediately before the shooting, Kirk was taking questions from an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence.
“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” an audience member asked. Kirk responded, “Too many.”
The questioner followed up: “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”
“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk asked.
Then a single shot rang out. The shooter, who Cox pledged would be held accountable in a state with the death penalty, wore dark clothing and fired from a roof on campus some distance away.
The death was announced on social media by Trump, who praised the 31-year-old Kirk, the co-founder and CEO of the youth organization Turning Point USA, as “Great, and even Legendary.” Later Wednesday, he released a recorded video from the White House in which he called Kirk a “martyr for truth and freedom” and blamed the rhetoric of the “radical left” for the killing.
“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” Trump posted on his Truth Social account.
Utah Valley University said the campus was immediately evacuated and remained closed. Classes were canceled until further notice. Those still on campus were asked to stay in place until police officers could safely escort them off campus. Armed officers walked around the neighborhood bordering the campus, knocking on doors and asking for information on the shooter.
Officers were seen looking at a photo on their phones and showing it to people to see if they recognized a person of interest.
The event, billed as the first stop on Kirk’s “The American Comeback Tour,” had generated a polarizing campus reaction. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures. The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.”
Related video below: Law enforcement on a roof near where Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at Utah college event
Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit was sparking controversy. He wrote, “What’s going on in Utah?”
The shooting drew swift bipartisan condemnation, with Democratic officials joining Trump, who ordered flags lowered to half-staff and issued a presidential proclamation, and Republican allies of Kirk in decrying the violence.
“The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible,” Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who last March hosted Kirk on his podcast, posted on X.
“The murder of Charlie Kirk breaks my heart. My deepest sympathies are with his wife, two young children, and friends,” said Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was wounded in a 2011 shooting in her Arizona district.
The shooting appeared poised to become part of a spike of political violence that has cut across the political 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 is the shooting of Trump during a campaign rally last year.
Former Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, a Republican who was at Wednesday’s 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.
He said there was a light police presence at the event, and Kirk had some security, but not enough.
Related video below: Charlie Kirk dead after being shot at Utah college event
“Utah is one of the safest places on the planet,” he said. “And so we just don’t have these types of things.”
Turning Point was founded in suburban Chicago in 2012 by Kirk, then 18, and William Montgomery, a Tea Party activist, to proselytize on college campuses for low taxes and limited government. It was not an immediate success.
But Kirk’s zeal for confronting liberals in academia eventually won over an influential set of conservative financiers.
Despite early misgivings, Turning Point enthusiastically backed Trump after he clinched the GOP nomination in 2016. Kirk served as a personal aide to Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, during the general election campaign.
Soon, Kirk was a regular presence on cable TV, where he leaned into the culture wars and heaped praise on the then-president. Trump and his son were equally effusive and often spoke at Turning Point conferences.