Trump Ally Shot at Campus Event
BBC News
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A manhunt is ongoing for the killer of conservative activist and influential Trump ally Charlie Kirk, who died after being shot at a university in Utah
Two people who were arrested have since been released – officials say they have "no current ties" to the shooting
It's not clear if police have any leads on the gunman – but authorities don't seem to think they're still on campus, our reporter at Utah Valley University writes
Meanwhile, Trump says he is "filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination", calling it a "dark moment for America" in a video message
Trump is visibly angry and upset – this feels like a dangerous moment in America, our North America editor Sarah Smith writes
Officials believe Kirk was shot from a roof – BBC Verify examines a video which people claim could show a gunman
Kirk, who founded conservative group Turning Point USA aged 18, was close to the president and his family – read our profile here
Edited by Matt Spivey and Neha Gohil, with reporting from Regan Morris and Christal Hayes at Utah Valley university
We have been hearing from those who attended the event where US conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot on Wednesday.
Many have described mass panic after the shot was fired.
Self-described "big fan" of Kirk, Porter LaFerber, a student at Utah Valley University, says he was about 50ft(15m) away from him at the time of the shooting.
You don't really realise what's happened until it's happened. Charlie falls off his stool, everyone starts panicking."
Porter LaFerber, Utah Valley University student
Meanwhile Adam Bartholomew, who was interviewing counter-protestors speaking out against Kirk's presence on campus, says people dropped to the floor and were "in tears" before "scrambling for the exits".
Phil Lyman, a former Utah state representative, says he had handed out baseball caps on stage with Kirk before the event started.
"I wasn't next to him when he was shot, and I don't know if I'm happy about that or that I wish I could've been there," he says.
3,000 kids basically watched somebody shot right in front of them, it's really traumatic."
Phil Lyman, Former Utah state representative
By Thomas Copeland
News first began to spread that Kirk had been shot just after 12:20 MDT (19:20 BST) at Utah Valley University.
Within about 20 minutes of the first videos emerging online, BBC Verify had verified and circulated an initial two videos of the attack.
The first video showed people who were attending Kirk’s event on the campus running away from the scene after the sound of a gunshot.
The second video was a highly graphic close-up in which we hear a shot, then see Kirk jolt back in his chair with blood pouring from his neck.
We continued to verify footage of the shooting in the hours that followed. Just before 22:00 BST we authenticated a video in which we could hear that Kirk was speaking to a questioner about US mass shootings in the seconds before he was shot.
At an evening briefing held by law enforcement agents in Utah, we learned that they were studying CCTV from the university because they believed the suspect was "all dressed in black" and the shot "came from a roof".
Just after midnight, BBC Verify had geolocated two videos showing a dark shape moving on the roof of a university building which we identified as the Losee Center, located about 150 yards from where Kirk was sitting.
Further information has since emerged and BBC Verify is now working to piece together a detailed timeline of the shooting, pinpoint the location from where the fatal shot was fired, and track misinformation as it spreads online.
Kulsum Hafeji
BBC Newsbeat
Tiana is a marketing student at Utah Valley University
Tiana Lao, 20, says she and her housemate were "pretty excited" to watch Charlie Kirk speak at a campus event.
She tells BBC Newsbeat that when they arrived, she was surprised by the security measures given the size of the crowd.
"No-one was checking bags,” she says, adding "it seemed like a peaceful debate in the beginning,” she says.
But she describes chaotic scenes after the gunshot rang out.
"We didn’t know what was going on, at first we were confused,” she says.
“I didn’t even know if someone got shot at that point. Everyone started ducking down, screaming 'get down' and telling us to run to the nearest building.
"Then we realised this was serious. We were both crying – I was shaking uncontrollably."
The students have been told that classes will begin again on Tuesday, but Tiana isn’t sure if she will go in.
She says the university has encouraged students to stay vigilant and post any footage from the event to help "catch the killers as soon as possible".
The FBI has set up a portal for eyewitnesses to upload any material that could assist the search.
Looking back at the event, Tiana says she thinks stronger checks should have been in place.
“I do love my school, but I am pretty disappointed with the security measures that they did not take," she says.
Vigils for Kirk took place in several US cities on Wednesday
As we've been reporting, Charlie Kirk founded the conservative group Turning Point USA.
Similar offshoot groups, sporting the same name, have since been established in other countries. They have been issuing tributes since the shooting.
The UK group posted on X: "They murdered our boss. Our mentor. Our inspiration. Our friend."
The organisation describes itself as a "grassroots conservative and free speech activist organisation". It was founded in 2019, seven years after Turning Point USA.
Turning Point Australia has also shared condolences as it says it "owes a great debt" to Kirk.
"His legacy will live on in all of us around the world who have been touched by his wisdom and will continue the work that he started," the statement says.
Both groups have organised vigils.
For more on Charlie Kirk and his political work – you can head to our profile.
Regan Morris
Reporting from Utah
Grace and Grace skipped high school to see Charlie Kirk. They’re both 17 and their parents had approved of the visit.
I meet them outside the police barricade where they’d seen Kirk get shot.
They say they’re fans of Kirk and members of Turning Point groups at their high school.
Grace Dishman, left, says she never thought she’d be anywhere near a shooting. Grace Baird just wants to get home.
“I just want to hug my mom,” she says.
Charlie Kirk posted his final message on X just hours before he was fatally shot in Utah.
In it, the conservative activist references the need "to politicize the senseless murder" of a Ukrainian refugee living in North Carolina.
Iryna Zarutska, 23 was murdered in an unprovoked attack on a train last month. Her death has sparked a widespread debate over crime in American cities.
Kirk wrote: "If we want things to change, it's 100% necessary to politicize the senseless murder of Iryna Zarutska because it was politics that allowed a savage monster with 14 priors to be free on the streets to kill her."
He shared a video, where he describes her death as "one of the coldest, most senseless murders I have ever seen".
"I don't like politicising situations, but it just necessitates it."
"No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie," President Trump said in his tribute
Charlie Kirk was one of the highest profile conservative activists and media personalities in the US and a trusted ally of President Donald Trump.
He was shot dead on Wednesday at the age of 31 while hosting a college event for Turning Point USA, the organisation he co-founded. His wife and family were at the scene but are safe; no other injuries have been reported.
The son of an architect who grew up in the well-to-do Chicago suburb of Prospect Heights, Kirk attended a community college near Chicago before dropping out to devote himself to political activism.
Kirk started Turning Point USA at age 18, with the aim to spread conservative ideals at liberal-leaning US colleges.
The organisation played a key role in the get-out-the-vote effort for Trump and other Republican candidates in last year's election. The millennial was credited widely with helping to register tens of thousands of new voters and flipping Arizona for Trump.
Kirk was also known for his anti-transgender views and scepticism over the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020, he publicly promoted the false claim that the election won by Joe Biden was stolen from Trump.
Last night, Trump paid tribute to Kirk on Truth Social: "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."
Vigils in memory of Kirk have been held in several US cities
Brien McElhatten, a Utah news presenter with ABC4, tells the BBC that Charlie Kirk had a "very good reception" for his event at the University.
"Utah Valley University is in a very conservative county in a very conservative state in the Western United States, so he was well-received," he tells Radio 5 Live Breakfast.
"However, as with many of his on-campus visits, there were petitions against him speaking at the university. There was discontent with him being there, but that was not at all unusual given his platform."
McElhatten describes the "utter shock" that has followed the shooting.
"This is a country unfortunately that is very familiar with shootings like this – and very familiar now with political candidates and political commentators being in the crosshairs.
"Utah bills itself as a state that is very polite. People will help each other. People tend to be quite nice to each other and violent crime is very low in Utah, but this came as an utter shock and frankly people are stunned."
A vigil was held at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Late City
We’ve been hearing Pete Sessions, a prominent Republican congressman and friend of Charlie Kirk.
Sessions tells the BBC's Today programme on Radio 4 that many people think Kirk was the "catalyst for Donald Trump" and that the US president "rode Kirk‘s wave."
"He is a Christian conservative who believed in dialogue. He did not chastise or belittle people."
He didn't go to university and was self-taught and well-read, Sessions says.
Kirk was a "delightful young man" who "spoke with clarity", the congressman recalls.
Republicans have tended to hold events in the open air, Sessions says, and this moment "will change who we are and how we express ourselves."
It makes people ask "where is America heading", he adds.
It's approaching 03:00 in Utah (10:00 BST) and there has been no update on the ongoing police search for the gunman that killed Charlie Kirk.
A single shot was fired towards Kirk at around 12:20 (19:20 BST) local time yesterday as he addressed a crowd while seated on a stage.
The FBI is co-leading the investigation with the Utah Department of Public Safety.
Two people had been arrested in the hours after the shooting – but both have since been released, with officials confirming they were found to have "no current ties" to the shooting.
No details have been released by officials regarding either the identity of a suspect or their motive.
The Department of Public Safety has said it is working at "multiple active crime scenes" which have been identified based on where Kirk was shot, "as well as the locations where the suspect and victim travelled".
The department adds that six local police officers were working the event, alongside Kirk's security detail.
Influential Republican activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday evening.
If you're still catching up with the news, we've prepared this timeline of how the incident unfolded.
12:00 MDT (19:00 BST): Kirk arrives at the event, part of his "American Comeback" tour which was scheduled to stop at 15 college campuses in the US.
At about 12:20: Kirk is shot. Police had originally estimated that shots were fired from about 182m (200 yards) away, but it now appears the figure on the roof was approximately 130m (142 yards) from where Kirk was sitting.
12:50: Police confirm that shots were fired during an event at Utah Valley University.
13:52: US Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins says on X that Kirk is in critical condition, but "still with us".
13:54: Police tell students to leave campus "immediately" and until further notice.
14:40: US President Donald Trump announces that Kirk has died of his injuries.
15:17: Trump orders flags to be flown at half-mast in the US to commemorate the conservative activist.
16:25: FBI director Kash Patel says a "subject" is in custody.
20:00: Patel says the subject has been released – in total, two suspects were arrested and then released.
20:10: Trump posts a video message on his Truth Social platform, saying he is "filled with grief and anger" after the "heinous assassination" of Kirk. He promises to crackdown on political violence.
A manhunt for the suspected shooter is ongoing.
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Watch: 'Dark moment for America', says Trump after Kirk killing
Charlie Kirk was sitting about 130m (142 yards) away from the Losee Center at Utah Valley University when he was shot whilst speaking on Wednesday.
A dark shape appeared to be seen on the roof of the centre when it happened – we've plotted the scene on the map above.
BBC Verify has examined social media footage of people claiming to show a "shooter" on the roof of the building at Utah Valley University.
It cannot be verified when the clip was filmed, but the BBC has approached the person who posted it for more details.
Former US presidents have been reacting after Donald Trump confirmed the death of Charlie Kirk.
Joe Biden says he and his wife, Jill, are praying for Kirk's family and loved ones. The country's 46th president adds that there is "no place" in the US for this sort of violence.
Barack Obama echoes Biden's words, describing the shooting as "despicable violence" that has "no place in our democracy.”
In a statement to BBC News, George W Bush says Kirk was "murdered in cold blood" in a college campus, where "ideas should be sacrosanct".
Bush’s predecessor, Bill Clinton, has shared an X post where he says he is "saddened and angered by Charlie Kirk's murder". 
Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter
Julia Pierce (right) with Charlie Kirk at an event in Dallas last year
Activists in the influential conservative activist group founded by Charlie Kirk – Turning Point USA – are in a state of shock.
I've been speaking to Julia Pierce, a Turning Point member for over ten years.
She says she is in “shock and disbelief,” adding there are “tears pouring down my cheeks.”
With Charlie Kirk, Julia says "what you see is what you get. He didn’t care if he was booed.”
She has attended many of Kirk's events such as AmericaFest – the group’s annual conference – and met him several times. “He was the most friendly, kind, gentle, Christian person," she says.
"It used to be that for young people it was cool to be a Democrat. But he made it cool to be a Trump supporter and to wear the MAGA hat and live your life with traditional family values."
"It used to be nerdy and strait-laced to be a Republican," she continues, "but he made it fun to be a Republican and now we are the rebels," she says.
"Now we have all these college kids hysterically crying about him,” Julia says. “And we are even more motivated to carry on Charlie Kirk's legacy."
Utah Valley University will remain closed until Monday with all classes, both in-person and virtual, suspended.
In a statement, the university says they "are shocked and saddened by the tragic passing", external of Charlie Kirk, who was speaking at an event on campus.
The university says it is grieving with their students, faculty and staff, "who bore witness to this unspeakable tragedy".
Christal Hayes
Reporting from Utah Valley University
Brock Anderson says it feels 'unsettling' on campus
It’s just gone 01:30 local time (08:30 BST) here in Utah and red and blue police vehicle lights are still flashing across much of the deserted university campus as the hunt for Charlie Kirk’s killer continues.
I’ve spoken with several students who attended Kirk’s event earlier and witnessed his killing. They had been on lockdown for several hours and hadn’t been able to get back to their apartments until now.
“It’s scary,” student Brock Anderson tells me, noting the back-and-forth signals from law enforcement on whether the shooter was still at large has made those on campus feel even worse after a traumatic day.
“It’s a little alarming,” he says. “It's unsettling around the campus right now, like I'm just trying to walk home, and it's just unsettling.”
Near where we were speaking, people have piled more than a dozen different bouquets in front of a school sign, including colourful assortments of daisies, lilies and roses.
Utah Valley University student Porter Lafeber was 15m (50ft) away from Charlie Kirk when he was shot.
"I was filming him, I cut my video and then I just heard this shot," he says.
"Initially you don’t really realise what's happening until it’s happened,” he tells the Today programme on BBC Radio 4. “Charlie falls off his stool, everyone starts panicking, running in different directions."
Lafeber says he hid for between 30 seconds to a minute and when he didn't hear another gunshot he made his way to the closest building.
"It was just uncertain,” he continues. “You don’t know whether outside is safe or inside is safe – if there’s a shooter looking for more victims.”
"There’s people hiding in every corner, every elevator shaft – it’s a really terrifying moment."
Lafeber describes himself as a “big fan” of Kirk’, and Wednesday’s event in Utah had been in his calendar for weeks.
Kirk was “a political icon for people my age,” Lafeber says.
Phil Lyman, former Republican state representative in Utah, had been handing out baseball caps with Kirk shortly before the shooting.
He tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "I was on the stage with him when he started talking.
"I left – I went to find some other people, so I wasn't next to him when he was shot.
"I don't know if I am happy about that or if I wish I could have been there."
Speaking of the shooting, Lyman says: "3,000 kids basically watched someone shot right in front of them – it was really traumatic."
"[This is] a really pivotal point in America – he was probably the most influential person for young people especially in the conservative movement,” he continues.
"There's going to be some real repercussions here and what I hope happens is people understand what Charlie stood for – his Christian values, his love of family and freedom and that they don't get scared away from that because I believe that's what someone is trying to do is scare us away from those principles.”
The mayor of Orem City, home to the Utah Valley University, tells Newsday on the BBC World Service that the news of Charlie Kirk’s killing is “devastating”.
"It's so foreign for our community,” David Young says.
“Orem is about 100,000 people strong who live here and we are a very peaceful, safe, engaged, kind. We just don't have this sort of thing here,” he continues.
“I can't think of the last time someone was murdered. It just doesn't happen. And so to have someone like Charlie Kirk to come to our college and have this happen is horrific."
Young describes the killing as a "deep, black, evil spot to deal with… and a lot of our residents are just not okay."
Candlelit vigils in Kirk’s memory are planned in the city, Young confirms.
“We’ve been a city for 105 years we've never had anything like this," Young says. 
Sarah Smith
North America editor
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Watch: 'Dark moment for America', says Trump after Kirk killing
Visibly angry and upset, Donald Trump described Charlie Kirk as a martyr for truth and freedom, as he paid tribute to a man he considered to be not just a close friend, but also someone who played a significant role in his re-election and in shaping the MAGA movement.
Trump directly blamed radical left-wing politics for contributing to this atrocity and other recent violent political attacks.
He noticeably did not mention recent murders and violent attacks against Democrats.
Often atrocities like this create an atmosphere of political unity.
Many senior politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, have responded by saying this kind of violence has no place in American democracy.
But there is also a widespread, furious and febrile reaction among followers of Trump and Kirk which is demanding retribution. This feels like a dangerous moment in America.
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