Conservative Activist, Charlie Kirk, was shot and killed during TPUSA event at Utah Valley University
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore
By: Dillon Nittoli
Editor’s Note: This article was last updated on September 11, 2025, at 11:02 AM and reflects what was known at that time. It will be updated if new information becomes available.
Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist, media personality, and founder of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), was shot and killed on Wednesday, September 10th at a TPUSA event on the campus of Utah Valley University. According to live updates from the Associated Press, a bolt action rifle was recovered from the scene and the search for the shooter persists. It is unknown who or where the killer is at this time but, the FBI suspects it is someone who is of college age.
Videos posted to social media from audience members show the 31-year-old Kirk taking questions from audience members under a white tent with the TPUSA slogans “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong” before a single shot rang out through the venue. Kirk is seen reaching his right hand up to the left side of his neck as a large volume of blood gushes from the wound before falling to the ground. Audience members are heard screaming before the crowd starts to run away.
Just two hours later, Kirk’s death was announced on social media by President Trump, heralding Kirk as “Great, and even Legendary.” Other prominent conservative politicians and media personalities quickly followed suit. Kirk, often described as a major player in garnering support among young Republican voters for Trump in the 2024 Presidential Election, was lauded by the President on social media, “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.”
The shooting also drew swift condemnation from individuals across the aisle. The former Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, posted that, “the horrific shooting today at Utah Valley University is reprehensible. Political violence has absolutely no place in our nation.” Governor Gavin Newsom, who previously hosted Kirk on his podcast joined Pelosi in condemning the attack posting, “The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible.”
This shooting is the latest in a spike in political violence in the United States that has impacted members of both parties. These instances of violence include the shootings of two Minnesota lawmakers, Melissa Hortman and her husband, and John Hoffman and his wife on June 14th, 2025, the attack on the Pennsylvania Governor’s mansion on April 13th, 2025, an arson attack on the New Mexico Republican headquarters on March 30th, the politically motivated assassination of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson on December 4th, 2024, an assassination attempt on Trump on September 15th 2024, and the shooting of Trump during a rally on July 13th, 2024.
Dillon Nittoli is a senior in the College studying Biology from New York. Dillon is also the Copy Editor for The Pennsylvania Post. His email is dnittoli@sas.upenn.edu
