What we know about fatal shooting of conservative US activist

Charlie Kirk, an influential right-wing activist and a close ally of US President Donald Trump, was shot dead while speaking at an event at a university in Utah.

Here is what we know.

Kirk, 31, was speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem on 10 September, 2025 as part of his “American Comeback” tour.

He sat under a white gazebo to take questions from a crowd of about 3,000 in the university’s “quad”, an outdoor courtyard.

At about 12:20, he is asked by a member of the crowd: “Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?”

He replies: “Too many.”

The questioner then states there had been five in 10 years and asks Kirk how many mass shootings there had been in that time.

“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk replies.

Then a single shot is heard, which is believed to have been fired from the roof of the Losee Center, a building overlooking the quad.

Kirk then slumps in his chair with a clearly visible wound to his neck. He is bleeding profusely as his staff get him off stage.

The crowds around the tent then begin to flee, and screams can be heard.

No-one has so far been caught.

On Thursday, the Salt Lake City office of the FBI released two photographs of a “person of interest” and asked for help identifying him.

At a press conference hours earlier, FBI special agent Robert Bohls said that a high-powered, bolt-action rifle had been found in a wooded area near to the university.

An imported Mauser .30-06 bolt action rifle, it was found wrapped in a towel.

A “footwear impression”, a palm print and forearm imprints were also discovered.

Beau Mason, Utah’s public safety commissioner, said the gunman appeared to be of “college age”, and had blended in well with other students.

They said “good video footage” showed a suspect jumping from a roof after the shooting and fleeing the campus.

This appears to be supported by videos released in the public domain.

BBC Verify has examined one which is believed show a figure on the roof of a university building.

It is hard to determine what the dark shape pictured in it might be. However, the building can be identified as the Losee Center – approximately 130m (142 yards) from where Kirk was sitting.

Footage taken from an office behind Kirk’s gazebo appears to show someone running across the roof of the Losee Center after the shooting.

In the hours afterwards, witnesses described what they had seen.

“I heard a loud shot, a loud bang and then I saw his body actually – in slow motion – kind of fall over,” one witness said.

“We all dropped to the ground, and I want to say we sat like that for about 30 to 45 seconds, and then everyone around us got up and started running,” said Emma Pitts, a reporter from Deseret News.

Kirk was one of the most high-profile right-wing activists and media personalities in the US. He was a trusted ally of Trump, attended his inauguration and regularly visited the White House.

As an 18-year-old in 2012, he co-founded Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a student organisation that aims to spread conservative ideals at liberal-leaning US colleges.

He became known for holding open-air debates on campuses across the country, fielding quick questions in a signature “Prove Me Wrong” style.

His social media feed and daily podcast offer a snapshot of what he often debated – the issues ranged from gun rights and climate change, to faith and family values.

Kirk had many critics who saw him as a divisive figure that promoted controversial and, at times, conspiratorial beliefs such as the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump.

But he also had his fans. They credit him with playing a key role in convincing younger voters to turn out for Trump in last year’s election.

He was valued within the Trump administration for his keen understanding of the Maga movement.

There has been shock, grief and anger across the political spectrum.

“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,” Trump said in a statement on Truth Social.

“He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me,” the president added, ordering that all flags be flown at half-mast across the country.

Former US presidents have offered their condolences. Joe Biden said there was “no place in our country for this kind of violence”, while Barack Obama called the shooting a “despicable act”.

But the death has also laid bare the deep polarisations within American politics.

Conservative commentators have highlighted tasteless comments by left-wing activists appearing to celebrate or condone Kirk’s death.

At the same time, some of Trump’s allies – including Laura Loomer and Elon Musk – pinned blame on the left or the Democratic Party, and called for mass arrests.

That has spilled out in Congress, where shouting broke out after a moment of silence for Kirk. Representative Anna Paulina Luna, a Republican and Trump ally, accused Democrats of spreading hateful rhetoric.

The US has experienced about 150 politically motivated attacks in the first six months of this year.

That is nearly twice as many as over the same period last year, an expert told Reuters news agency.

Mike Jensen – from the University of Maryland, which for more than 50 years has tracked political violence in a database – said the US is in a “a very, very dangerous spot right now”.

“This could absolutely serve as a kind of flashpoint that inspires more of it.”

Kirk’s murder is the latest in a string of high-profile attacks against political leaders in the US, including two attempted assassinations on Trump during his 2024 election campaign.

The president was suffered an ear injury in an attempted assassination at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July.

In June, Minnesota’s top Democratic legislator and her husband were murdered in their home.

In 2022, the husband of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was bludgeoned with a hammer after a man broke into the couple’s home looking for the top-ranking Democrat with the intention of taking her hostage.

Former US representative Gabby Giffords – who survived being shot in the head during a meeting with constituents in 2011 – also condemned the attack.

“Democratic societies will always have political disagreements, but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence.”

Correction: An earlier version of this story said Kirk’s wife and children were present at the event. In fact this is unclear.