Charlie Kirk, a massively popular podcaster, radio host and ally of President Donald Trump, died Wednesday after being shot at a college event, Trump said.
The co-founder and CEO of the youth organization Turning Point USA, the 31-year-old Kirk was heard locally on 94.3 Super Talk.
Kirk was holding an event in front of around 2,000 people on the campus grounds of Utah Valley University. He was taking questions from an audience member about mass shootings and gun violence. Then a single shot rang out.
The shooter still appears to be at large. A person who was taken into custody at Utah Valley University was not the suspect, according to a person familiar with the investigation who was not authorized to speak publicly.
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.
Turning Point was founded in suburban Chicago in 2012 by Kirk, then 18, and William Montgomery, a tea party activist, to speak on college campuses for low taxes and limited government. It was not an immediate success.
But Kirk’s zeal for confronting liberals in academia went viral on social media. Turning Point's Youtube channel has more than 3.3 million followers. His podcast ranked in the top 50 in the U.S.
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 TV, where he leaned into the culture wars and mixed in a gospel message.
(Photos: The Deseret News via AP)
