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The CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organisation ‘Turning Point USA’ was shot on Wednesday at an event at a university in Utah. A member of his organisation says the 31-year-old Trump ally is in critical condition.
“We are confirming that he was shot and we are praying for Charlie,” said Aubrey Laitsch, public relations manager for Turning Point USA.
Videos circulating on social media show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone at Utah Valley University, sitting under a white tent with the slogan “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong.”
A single shot rang out shortly after Kirk ended his response to one of the questions from a member of the audience, before he was seen reaching up with his right hand as a large volume of blood gushed from the left side of his neck.
A suspect has been taken into police custody following the shooting. A law enforcement officer told the Associated Press that investigations are already underway.
Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political organisation. The event had been met with divided opinions on campus. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures.
The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.”
US President Donald Trump and a host of Republican and Democratic elected officials decried the shooting and offered prayers for Kirk on social media.
“We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Kash Patel says his agency is closely monitoring the situation, noting that FBI agents will soon be at the scene to lead investigation efforts into the tragic incident.
Turning Point was founded in suburban Chicago in 2012 by Kirk, then 18-years-old, and William Montgomery, a tea party activist, to proselytise on university campuses for low taxes and limited government. It was not an immediate success, but over the years has grown in size, with a reach now spreading to hundreds of thousands across the United States.
But Kirk’s passion for confronting liberals in academia eventually won over an influential set of conservative financiers.
Despite early misgivings, Turning Point enthusiastically backed Trump after he clinched the GOP nomination in 2016. Kirk served as a personal aide to Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, during the general election campaign.
Soon, Kirk was a regular presence on cable television, where he leaned into the culture wars and heaped praise on the then-president. Trump and his son were equally grateful and often spoke at Turning Point conferences.
Additional sources • AP