Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk has died after he was shot at an event at Utah Valley University, President Donald Trump said.

Kirk, 31, was attacked during a question-and-answer session with students.

“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 said in a post on Truth Social.

Back in March, the University of Tennessee Humanities amphitheater served as an arena for thousands of students to cheer on Kirk, especially as he took on challengers as part of a public debate he incorporates into all his campus appearances. Students lined the benches to hear Kirk speak and debate.

From March: Charlie Kirk’s visit shows the MAGA movement is loud and proud at the University of Tennessee

Kirk’s entrance into the outdoor amphitheater resembled that of a rock star. Men in fraternity gear worked their way to the front to be near him while women in MAGA hats gushed and took videos as he passed by.

The goal was to challenge the notion that college campuses are liberal, and UT students used Kirk, who frequently took aim at the country’s higher education system, to do it.

“We want to have some discourse on campus and some debate,” Emma Arns, a senior from Chicago who’s a leader in UT’s chapter of Kirk’s organization, Turning Point USA, told Knox News at the event. “What people here want to see is him give his perspective and help other people come up with arguments on how to debate the left,” Arns said.

In 2024, Kirk spoke at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where he gave a speech focusing on what Kirk says he heard from young people around the U.S.

USA TODAY contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Charlie Kirk, who died in shooting, found a following at University of Tennessee