BREAKING: Conservative Icon Charlie Kirk Dead At 31

Prominent conservative activist and political commentator, 31, has been pronounced dead after he was shot in the neck while speaking on the Utah Valley University campus on Wednesday, September 10, 2025.

Just The News reported that Kirk had been pronounced dead shortly before 1:30 p.m. local time, citing local officials. The news was further confirmed by Utah Speaker Mike Schultz, according to Deseret reporter Brigham Tomco.

The report was further confirmed when President Donald Trump officially announced Kirk’s passing in a Truth Social post. “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 announced.

“Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”

Kirk was shot in the neck shortly after 12:20 local time as he wad taking questions from attendees. Preliminary reports indicate that Kirk was shot by a lone gunman from a building located about 200 yards away from the tent he was speaking from.

Horrific, up close footage of the shooting shows Kirk being shot in the upper body/neck area mid sentence. Attendees then began to scatter, while Kirk was transported to an area hospital.

“Today at about 12:10 a shot was fired at the visiting speaker, Charlie Kirk,” the university posted on social media. “He was hit and taken from the location by his security. Campus police is investigating, a suspect is in custody.”

The event at Utah Valley University featured a “Prove Me Wrong” table, a debate series Kirk hosts at universities across the country. The next “Prove Me Wrong” table event was set to take place Sept. 18 at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Kirk, 31, is best known as the founder of the campus conservative organization Turning Point USA. For the better part of a decade, he has traveled to college campuses across the country in order to hold events and take questions from attendees, including those of the political left.

The organization’s success both in campus activism and voter registration turned Kirk into one of the most prominent conservative personalities in the United States. Kirk’s Turning Point Action voter registration initiative was credited with registering thousands of younger voters in pivotal swing states ahead of the 2024 presidential election, particularly in his home state of Arizona.

Kirk was said to be exploring the possibility of a run for political office in the Grand Canyon State in the months leading up to his murder.

Prior to the event, a smiling Kirk was seen smiling as he tossed hats to the thousands of attendees in attendance.

As of 4:36 p.m. Eastern Time, the gunman is believed to still be on the loose. Police took a man into custody immediately after shots rang out, though that suspect has since been released after officials determined he was not the shooter, according to a report from the New York Times. The previously detained suspect did not have a weapon on him and was described by one witness as being somewhat mentally impaired.

Utah Valley University announced that Kirk was struck by a single bullet. Preliminary reports indicate that the shot came from an area, possibly a building, about 200 yards away from Kirk’s position.