Charlie Kirk was in his element.
The 31-year-old conservative firebrand had set up shop in the center of Utah Valley University for his national “The American Comeback” tour, the first stop at 10 college campuses around the US. His plan, as always: To rally his powers of persuasion and “own the libs” who came forward to challenge his views, all for the enjoyment of an engaged audience and millions of online followers.
Wearing a white shirt with the word “FREEDOM” in black letters, Kirk basked in the cheers of his 3,000-strong flock of admirers and would-be adversaries, casually flinging red and white “Make America Great Again” and “47” caps into the crowd.
Then he took a seat under a tent reading “PROVE ME WRONG,” and began the show.
About 20 minutes in, a young audience member stepped up to the microphone to try to do just that.
“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” he asked.
“Too many,” Kirk quipped. The crowd clapped and cheered.
Five, the audience member claimed. “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?” the man continued.
Kirk leaned forward and picked up his mic before setting back into an upright position. “Counting or not counting gang violence?” he said.
A loud “pop” suddenly rang out.
Kirk lurched back and to the left. Blood splashed from his neck onto his white shirt. Voices gasped, exhaled for a beat, then rose up in screams of horror.
The show was over.
The tour started at Utah Valley
Kirk’s “The American Comeback” tour kicked off at Utah Valley University, the largest public university in Utah, with future tour dates set from Montana to Virginia, Mississippi to Minnesota.
His path to Orem, Utah, began more than a decade earlier.
In 2012, at just 18 years old, Kirk, a college dropout, co-founded Turning Point USA to organize and rally young people into the conservative populist movement. With a trollish insouciance that became his trademark, he tossed out brash views on hot-button partisan issues and pressed for liberals to take him on.
Abortion? Murder. Gun rights? Sacred. Transgender rights? A delusion of “woke” ideology.
Disagree? OK, well then debate me, he said.
“We play offense with a sense of urgency to win America’s culture war,” Turning Point USA’s website quoted Kirk saying.
It was a strategy honed for the politics and social media moment of our time. He set up tables on college campuses, urging people to debate him, creating rhetorical clashes he then posted to YouTube with titles like “Charlie Kirk Schools College Atheist” and “Charlie Kirk Cooks Fool Claiming Republicans Are the Problem.”
Before he arrived at Utah Valley University, a petition calling to prevent Kirk from speaking there was signed by just under 1,000 people. However, the university posted a statement last week affirming its commitment to free speech and institutional neutrality.
“The university respects the rights of student clubs and organizations to invite various speakers to campus,” the university said. “As a public institution, UVU upholds First Amendment rights and fosters an environment where ideas — popular or controversial — can be exchanged freely, energetically, and civilly.”
‘Get comfortable,’ Kirk told the crowd
On Wednesday, Kirk arrived at the campus courtyard area, just outside the Hall of Flags, prepared for debate. A tent with his “PROVE ME WRONG” branding rested at the bottom of the tiered outdoor auditorium, surrounded by a team of private security, university and local police and two rows of safety barriers labeled with the tour’s name.
Blue sky and sun bore down on the crowd as the excitement began to build.
Former Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz said he went to the event with his family and described the scene in a phone interview with Fox News.
“People were there. And there were lots of them. You know, he came out, he was throwing hats, riling up the crowd,” he said.
Former Utah state Rep. Phil Lyman said he directed Kirk’s attention to a nearby disabled person who wanted a hat.
“He saw him and he came right over and handed him a hat, and it was really very kind,” Lyman said. “I was sitting there watching, thinking, ‘He’s taller than I thought he was, and he’s so energetic, and he’s so happy throwing these hats out, and the crowd is just going nuts.’”
Charlie Kirk hands out hats before speaking at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. – Tess Crowley/The Deseret News/AP
Once Kirk took his spot under the tent, the table in front of him bore his tools of the trade: A microphone, several bottles of water and two Starbucks cups with tea bag labels sticking out.
“We’re gonna be here for a couple hours. Get comfortable,” Kirk said in a video posted to his TikTok. “Bring the best libs that Utah has to offer,” he said, cheers drowning out his next few words.
Deseret News reporter Eva Terry told CNN the atmosphere at the event was “really happy, excited.” The students present were “excited to be around other conservatives,” she added.
The murder of Charlie Kirk
Chaffetz said that Kirk took a first question, which he described as a “religious question.”
The second question, he said, was about transgender mass shooters. The loud “pop” interrupted their back-and-forth.
The violent nature of the noise was immediately evident to many on scene.
Emma Pitts, another reporter for Deseret News, told CNN she heard the noise and saw Kirk go limp. “His neck kind of turned, and we saw blood immediately,” she said.
Raydon Dechene, who attended the event, said she saw blood coming from Kirk’s neck and realized the noise was a gun.
“At that point, I kind of turned my head to look uphill because it felt like it came from up behind me,” she said. “And then I saw everybody dropping so I dropped down. Then I heard someone say ‘run,’ so I took off running.”
Chaffetz said he heard the shot and saw Kirk fall backward and to his left.
“As soon as the shot went out, everybody hit the deck and everybody started scattering and yelling and screaming, as you might imagine,” Chaffetz said. “And I went from watching Charlie Kirk to looking over to make sure our daughter and our son-in-law were OK.”
Dallin Smith, another witness, said he ran after the loud noise.
“Some people were standing there still taking videos, so I went back out to look over the railing to see, like maybe someone just did some firecrackers or something like that. But more and more people were screaming, crying, dispersing super quickly from the scene,” he said. “Just pure craziness.”
The crowd reacts after Charlie Kirk is shot at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. – Tess Crowley/The Deseret News/AP
The scene after the shooting. – Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Reuters
Jeremy King, 45, said he momentarily thought the shooting was part of an act or performance before realizing otherwise.
“Everyone around me dropped to the ground. I immediately stood over my wife,” he said. “You don’t know if this is a single shot or if it’s going to turn into a mass shooting. And so you’re scanning.”
They fled to the nearest exit and ran out of the courtyard. There, they came across a group of bodyguards carrying Kirk out to an SUV. Kirk was moved to a private vehicle and taken to Timpanogos Regional Hospital.
A manhunt for the suspect, a mysterious figure on a nearby rooftop, was on.
Shortly after, President Donald Trump announced the death of the political activist he credited with winning over so many young voters.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” he wrote.
A drone view shows the scene after Kirk was fatally shot. – Cheney Orr/Reuters
In the Utah Valley University courtyard, a photo told the aftermath. The tent remained in its place, now surrounded by yellow police tape. Red and white caps sat neatly stacked on the table, as did a wired microphone. Water bottles, napkins and flyers were strewn on the lawn.
And a chair in the middle of the tent was turned over.
CNN’s Taylor Galgano, Brian Stelter, Eric Bradner, Betsy Klein and Aditi Sangal contributed to this report.
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