OREM, Sep 11 : Conservative influencer and President Donald Trump’s ally, Charlie Kirk, was shot dead at a college campus here in Utah on Wednesday.
A single shot was allegedly fired by an unidentified person at 12:20 pm local time as Kirk was taking a question from a student, critically wounding him in neck, reports BBC.
Video shows him immediately collapse. No one else was shot during the event.
He was rushed in “critical condition” to a local hospital and “it doesn’t look good”, his colleague told CBS News, BBC’s US partner.
The university said one shot was fired from about 200 yards away (182m), on the opposite side of the quad where he was speaking, and the campus has been closed for the day.
Kirk’s wife Erika and their two children were present during the shooting, according to Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullins.
Following the incident, a suspect was reportedly taken in custody by campus police. After some time, the suspected person has been released, a university spokesperson told CBS.
After Kirk succumbed to the bullet injury, US President Donald Trump announced the death of Charlie Kirk.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” President Trump has posted on his Truth Social platform.
The 31-year-old was shot at a campus event in Utah on Wednesday afternoon, he added.
Similarly, US Vice President J D Vance, a friend of the late Charlie Kirk, also took to social media.
“Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,” he wrote.
After Kirk was shot at a Utah Valley University campus, President Trump also spoke with Utah Governor Spencer Cox, who assured to bring to justice the individual responsible for this tragedy.”
Meanwhile, Utah Senator Mike Lee also tweeted, describing Kirk as an “American patriot”.
Kirk, who the president said died after a shooting at a Utah college on Wednesday, was known for holding open-air debates on campuses across the country.
In 2012, at the age of 18, he co-founded Turning Point USA, a student organisation that aims to spread conservative ideals at liberal-leaning US colleges.
His social media and eponymous daily podcast often shared clips of him debating with students about issues such as transgender identity, climate change, faith and family values.
Former US President Joe Biden also offered his condolences to Charlie Kirk’s family in a post on social media just now.
“There is no place in our country for this kind of violence,” he wrote.
Meanwhile, President Trump has ordered flags to be flown at half-mast in the US.
(UNI)
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