Conservative activist Charlie Kirk dead after being shot at UVU event, manhunt continues
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- Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot and killed during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
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- Law enforcement responds to a shooting at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem.
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- A heavy police presence is pictured at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem.
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- Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk speaks during a campaign rally Oct. 24, 2024, in Las Vegas.
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- Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks to a crowd of reporters during a press briefing at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, after an event where Charlie Kirk was assassinated.
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- An officer with the Utah County Bomb squad is shown canvassing the outside of Utah Valley University campus on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025 following an incident where Charlie Kirk was shot and killed.
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- First responder vehicles are seen outside the Keller Building on the Utah Valley University campus Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. (AP Photo/Tyler Tate)
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- A group of people hold signs at a rally at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025 where Charlie Kirk was reportedly shot and killed.
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- A tent is shown during an event at Utah Valley University in Orem where Charlie Kirk was reportedly shot and killed on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
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- Police agencies from across Utah County respond to Utah Valley University in Orem following a shooting on campus where conservative speaker Charlie Kirk was reportedly shot and killed Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
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- SWAT teams respond to a shooting at Utah Valley University in Orem where conservative speaker Charlie Kirk was shot and killed Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
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- SWAT teams responding to Utah Valley University in Orem following a shooting on campus where conservative speaker Charlie Kirk was assassinated Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
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- Students sit away from campus at Utah Valley University in Orem following a shooting on where conservative speaker Charlie Kirk was reportedly shot and killed at an event Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
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- The crowd reacts after Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, is shot at the Utah Valley University Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)
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- The crowd reacts after Charlie Kirk is shot during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)
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- Flowers are shown at the Keller Building on the Utah Valley University campus after Charlie Kirk was assassinated during Turning Point’s visit to the university Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem.
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- Well-wishers pay their respects at a makeshift memorial at the national headquarters of Turning Point USA in Phoenix, shown after the shooting death of Charlie Kirk, the co-founder and CEO of the organization, during a Utah college event Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025.
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday afternoon.
The Utah Department of Public Safety said it was believed to be a targeted attack against Kirk, who was struck by a single gunshot and died at Timpanogos Hospital.
“This is a dark day for our state; it’s a tragic day for our nation,” Gov. Spencer Cox said. “I want to be very clear that this is a political assassination.”
Gov. Cox confirmed during a press briefing a person of interest was in custody, and FBI Director Kash Patel said the subject of the shooting was in custody.
However, around 6 p.m. Patel said that the subject had been released after an interrogation by law enforcement.
A university report said a “single shot rang out,” in the quad near UVU’s food court at 12:20 p.m. as Kirk began speaking at a planned rally that was part of his “The American Comeback Tour.”
Thousands of students were in attendance at the event and could be seen fleeing the scene on video that was posted moments after the shooting.
Law enforcement agencies and first responders were on scene for the majority of the day and into the early evening.
People at the event immediately started posting on social media platforms like X (formerly Twitter):
Charlie Kirk was just shot at UVU while speaking. My daughter was in the crowd and saw it. He was shot in the neck. Pray for him and the students who are there.
— Ron (@HeyRonWilson) September 10, 2025
At @TPUSA event shot rang out I got down.
I didn’t see Charile Kirk after
An organizer closer to Charlie’s position said he was shot in the Neck
Conversation was how many trans mass shooters their have been
IDK how Charlie is pray for him pic.twitter.com/Ss8jJeNTRd
— Andrew Piskadlo (@AndrewPiskadlo) September 10, 2025
An eyewitness recounted what he saw to the Daily Herald.
“I was standing more towards the back, so I couldn’t really see a ton, but I did see the shot. I did see Charlie actually get shot,” Braden Jensen said. “At first I really didn’t know what to think, but then all of the sudden I saw blood come out and I knew it was real; and then literally, one second later, everybody hit the ground.”
Another man, Henry Dells, said he was the first to ask Kirk a question during the event and recalled the chaos that ensued once gunshots erupted.
“Everyone just jumped down,” he said. “We were just laying there for a while, until we all started getting up and started to flee.”
Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said the suspected gunman was dressed in dark clothing and that the shot was believed to be taken from a distance on a rooftop.
Officials said a man named George Zinn was arrested after the shooting, but he was later released after authorities realized he was not a match to the shooter’s description.
The Utah Department of Public Safety said in a media release Wednesday evening that there are no ties to the shooting with either of the two individuals that were initially taken into custody.
“There is an ongoing investigation and manhunt for the shooter,” the release reads.
Captain Jeffrey Long of the UVU Police Department said Kirk has a security team that travels with him and that the school coordinated with them prior to the event.
Long said it was an open venue with six officers working the event and over 3,000 people in attendance.
“We’re devastated,” Long said. “We’re a small police department. We have a very large campus. We have over 40,000 students, and we know our students, we love our visitors and we’re devastated by what happened today. This is a police chief’s nightmare.
“You try to get your bases covered, and unfortunately, today, we didn’t; and because of that, we had this tragic incident.”
Utah Valley University officials said classes, events and campus operations are canceled until Monday.
Cox had strong words for the person responsible for the act and reminded reporters that Utah still has the death penalty.
“I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this: We will find you, we will try you and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law,” he said.
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said his office is working closely with local, state and federal law enforcement partners as they investigate the shooting.
“Once the investigation is complete, we will carefully review the evidence and decide on the appropriate charges,” Gray said.
According to his Turning Point USA bio, Kirk “is the Founder and President of Turning Point USA, a national student movement dedicated to identifying, organizing, and empowering young people to promote the principles of free markets and limited government.”
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