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In an unfortunate event, Charlie Kirk, a well-known conservative figure and a close supporter of President Donald Trump, was killed on Wednesday during his speech at Utah Valley University.
Authorities revealed that the 31-year-old Kirk was hit by a single rifle shot fired from approximately 200 yards away, causing panic among the thousands of attendees.
Charlie Kirk asked about shootings before shots fired
Emma Pitts, a reporter for the Deseret News who was in attendance to cover the event, spoke to about witnessing the shooting.
“Ironically, right before the gunfire, Kirk was discussing mass shootings. He was asked by a student about the numbers of mass shooters who are transgender, which challenged Kirk. He responded with, ‘Too many,’” Pitts described.
According to Pitts, just as Kirk was about to respond to another question regarding the frequency of mass shootings in the U.S., “he appeared to be struck by a bullet in the neck.”
“The scene is unforgettable. It looked as if a stream of blood shot out from his neck, his body went limp, and his eyes shut,” she remembered.
A math professor from UVU told KTVX, “When I witnessed students fleeing the campus over the bridge, many were in tears. The entire situation was overwhelming for everyone involved.”
University ‘failed’ to protect Charlie Kirk: Witness
Pitts said the crowd was “full of energy for his appearance.” She noted that campus security for Kirk’s event seemed lax and “nobody scanned our equipment, nobody scanned our bags, there was no security like that.”
“Anyone could just walk in. It was probably the worst place on campus, because there’s so many areas where anyone can just walk in,” another witness told KTVX. “I would say the security level. I would say UVU kind of failed him in a way,”
Pitts said she “didn’t feel there was a high security presence, which surprised me because Kirk was controversial.”
After passing through security, Pitts said she was seated five rows from Kirk onstage.
Charlie Kirk‘s death announced by Trump
President Donald Trump announced Kirk’s death later that afternoon.
“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. Melania and my sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!” Trump wrote on social media.
Search underway for Charlie Kirk’s killer
Law enforcement continued to search for Kirk’s shooter Thursday. Robert Bohls, special agent in charge of the FBI in Salt Lake City, said, “I can tell you this was a targeted event” and that the shooter appeared to be of college age.
Additionally, authorities have recovered a firearm suspected to be used in the shooting, and have tracked the suspect’s path on campus to a nearby roof and the “shooting location.”
Two people initially detained by police were released Wednesday.
