Conservative Trump supporter Charlie Kirk killed in Utah ‘political assassination’

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US right-wing observer and activist Charlie Kirk, a key ally of President Donald Trump, was shot in the neck on Wednesday while speaking at the University of Utah-the state governor labeled a political assassination.

About six hours after the shooting, authorities had not yet identified any suspects until Wednesday evening. An unidentified “article” was detained and released again, FBI director Kashi Patel said.

He wrote on social media, “Our investigation is underway, and we will continue to release information in the interest of transparency.”

Governor Spencer Cox had earlier said at a press conference that the police were interviewing a “interested person” without providing further details about the man’s identity.

At the same press conference, however, Utah’s Public Safety Commissioner Bao Mason said the shooter was “widely”.

Kirk fell back

Online murder cellphone video clips were shown in the video clips, 31, which addressed a large outdoor crowd at Utah Valley University in Utah, when MT (1620 GMT) at 12:30 am, when a gun shot ended. Kirk fell from his chair and raised his hand towards his neck, and sent the participants running.

In another clip, immediately shoot. Later, Kirk’s neck was bleeding.

Authorities said the suspect fired from the roof at a significant distance, officials said, adding that about 3,000 people were gathered at the event. Jeff Long, chief of the University Police Department, said he had six officers, and he harmonized with the head of Kirk’s private security team, which was also on the site.

Trump ordered all the US government flags at half of the staff in honor of Kirk.

Trump wrote on social media, “Great, and even the legendary, Charlie Kirk has died. No one considers the hearts of young people better than Charlie in the United States.

The murder was the latest in connection with attacks on US political figures, including two attempts to assassinate Trump last year, which have identified the rapid increase in political violence.

“This is a dark day for our state, it is a tragic day for our nation,” Cox said at a press conference. “I want to be very clear that this is a political murder.”

On Wednesday, Kirk’s appearance was the first in the 15 -event “American return tour” in the country’s universities. He often used events that usually attracted a large crowd of students, to invite participants to discuss directly.

According to several videos of the event posted online, a second before shooting it, a member of the audience had questioned Kirk’s gun violence.

“Do you know how many widespread shooters have been in the United States in the last 10 years?” Kirk was asked.

He replied, “Not counting or counting gang violence?” He was shot after moments.

The far -reaching effect

Kirk and the group, which they laid a joint, the country’s largest conservative youth organization, Point USA, played a key role in supporting young voters for Trump in November.

After winning his second presidential term, Trump relied on Kirk to mobilize young voters and colorful voters in support of his campaign.

“You had a turning point in a rally in Phoenix in December,” Trump said in a Phoenix. ” “This is not my victory, this is your victory.”

There were 5.3 million followers on Kirk’s X and hosted a famous podcast and radio program, “Charlie Kirk Show”. He recently appeared as a guest host in Fox News’s “Fox and Friends”.

He was part of Trump’s pro -conservative influence environmental system. Which includes Jack Posobic, Laura Loomer, Candy Oven and others-who helped to enhance the president’s agenda. Kirk often attacked the mainstream media and engaged in the war of culture, gender and immigration, often in a provocative manner.

In the White House, staff members, many of whom were young and fans of Kirk, faced anxiety with news reports of firing news. Kirk was married and had two young children.

Political violence at the height

Although the purpose of this shooting is not known, the United States has been going through the most permanent period of political violence since the 1970s. Reuters on January 6, 2021, Trump’s supporters attacked the US capital.

In July 2024, Republican Trump was stolen from a gunman during a campaign in Pennsylvania’s Butler. Two months later, the second attempt to murder was thwarted by federal agents.

In April, a fire broke out at the residence of Josh Shapiro, the governor of the democratic Pennsylvania, and was inside the family.

Earlier this year, a gunman in Minnesota killed a Democratic state lawmaker Melissa Hartman and her husband and shot Democratic Senator John Hafman and his wife. And in Colorado’s bolder, a man created a temporary flame to attack Israeli hostages and used Molotov cocktail, killing a woman and injuring at least six.

In 2022, a man Democratic entered the house of Nancy Pelosi, a speaker of the house and released her husband with a hammer, leaving her skull fractures and other injuries. In 2020, a group of right -wing militia members made failed to kidnap Democrat, Michigan Governor Greenchin Whiter.

Both the Republican and the Democratic politicians expressed disappointment over the firing.

“O Lord,” eternal rest gives him, “Vice President JD Venus, who was close to Kirk, wrote on the X.

“I am surprised to kill Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University,” said Hakim Jefferiz, a minority leader of the Democratic House. “Political violence against any other person is unacceptable and fully compatible with US values. We pray for his family during this tragedy.”