President Donald Trump on Wednesday announced conservative activist Charlie Kirk died after being shot at a campus university event in Utah.
“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 his social media platform.
Before the announcement, Trump told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl, “It’s horrific. It’s one of the most horrible things I’ve ever seen.”
“He was a good man. He was an incredible guy. Nobody like him,” Trump told Karl.
Several top administration officials quickly issued messages of support for Kirk as news of the shooting spread, before Trump’s announcement that he had died.
Kirk, the founder of the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, was a close ally to Trump and many members of his administration.
“Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,” Vice President JD Vance wrote on X. Vance later posted a photograph of him, Kirk and Donald Trump Jr.
In this July 31, 2024, file photo, Charlie Kirk, Founder and President of Turning Point USA, addresses the crowd at a rally with Senator and Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance during a campaign rally at Arizona Christian University Event Center in Glendale, Arizona.
Laura Segall/AFP via Getty Images, FILE
FBI Director Kash Patel posted that the bureau is “closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected. Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation.”
“Prayers for Charlie Kirk. An incredible Christian, American, and human being. May the healing hand of Jesus Christ be upon him,” Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth wrote on X.
Republican members of Congress also said before news of his death that they were praying for Kirk. The House held a moment of silence for Kirk on Wednesday afternoon.
“We ask everyone to pray for him and his family. I’m just going to … state the obvious here. This is detestable,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said. “Political violence has become all too common in American society, and this is not who they are.”
Johnson added, “We need every political figure, we need everyone who has a platform, to say this loudly and clearly, we can settle disagreements and disputes in a civil manner, and political violence must be pulled out, and it has to stop.”
“This is a sick and despicable attack,” Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham posted. “I am praying for Charlie Kirk and his family. Please join me.”
U.S. right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk appears at a Utah Valley University speaking event in Orem, Utah, U.S. September 10, 2025.
Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune via Reuters
Many Democrats also quickly spoke out against the shooting on Wednesday.
“I am deeply disturbed by the shooting in Utah,” former Vice President Kamala Harris wrote on X. “Doug and I send our prayers to Charlie Kirk and his family. Let me be clear: Political violence has no place in America. I condemn this act, and we all must work together to ensure this does not lead to more violence.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned the shooting as “disgusting.”
“The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form,” Newsom wrote on X.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote on X: “Political violence is NEVER acceptable. My thoughts and prayers are with Charlie Kirk and his family.”
Gabrielle Giffords, a former Democratic congresswoman who was shot in the head during a public event in 2011, also shared a message condemning acts of political violence.
“I’m horrified to hear that Charlie Kirk was shot at an event in Utah. Democratic societies will always have political disagreements, but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence. Mark and I are praying for Charlie’s recovery,” Giffords wrote.
Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, whose husband was violently assaulted in their California home by an invader looking for Pelosi, called the shooting “horrific” and “reprehensible.”
“Political violence has absolutely no place in our nation,” Pelosi wrote on X. “All Americans should pray for Charlie Kirk’s recovery and hold the entire UVU community in our hearts as they endure the trauma of this gun violence.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
