Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk shot dead at Utah university event

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk, an influential ally of President Donald Trump, was fatally shot in the neck on Wednesday at an event at a Utah university, Trump said.

“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. 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,” Trump wrote on social media.

A university spokesperson said police did not have a suspect in custody, after the school initially reported that someone had been taken into custody.

Cellphone video clips of the incident circulating on social media showed Kirk addressing a large outdoor crowd at the campus in Orem, Utah, when a loud crack that sounded like a gunshot rang out. Kirk moved his hand toward his neck as he fell off his chair, sending the attendees running.

In another clip, blood can be seen gushing from Kirk’s neck immediately after the shot. Reuters has not confirmed the authenticity of the videos.

Agents from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on the scene, Attorney General Pam Bondi said on X.

Kirk and the group he co-founded, Turning Point USA, the largest conservative youth organization in the country, played a key role in driving young voter support for Trump in November. His events at college campuses nationwide typically draw large crowds.

(Reporting by Brad Brooks, David Morgan, Helen Coster, Jasper Ward, Jim Oliphant, Andrea Shalal, Andrew Hay, Jana Winter and Julia Harte; Writing by Joseph Ax; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Rosalba O’Brien)