Published: September 22, 2025
On Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, Charles “Charlie” Kirk, a prominent but polarizing conservative activist, co-founder of Turning Point USA, and close ally of President Donald Trump, was fatally shot. Kirk was at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, for the first stop of his “American Comeback Tour,” a multistate college campus tour.
Kirk was speaking on stage before roughly 3,000 attendees when a single gunshot struck him in the neck. Emergency responders arrived within minutes, but he was pronounced dead at the hospital. Kirk was 31 years old.
At 12:37 p.m., the university ordered the campus to close. By 2:01 p.m., those still on campus were instructed to shelter in place. All classes and activities at Utah Valley University and its satellite campuses were suspended through Sept.15.
On Friday, Sept. 12, after a 33-hour manhunt, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson was taken into custody for Kirk’s murder. According to investigators, Robinson’s father recognized him in photos released by law enforcement and confronted him directly. Utah Governor Spencer Cox revealed a family member told investigators that Robinson had become “more political” in recent years. Prior to the shooting, Robinson had allegedly mentioned to family members that Kirk was scheduled to appear in Utah. Robinson, who has no prior convictions, is currently being held without bail at Utah County Jail.
On the same day as Kirk’s killing, a shooting occurred at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colorado. The Evergreen shooting drew comparatively less sustained national coverage, as much of the nation’s attention remained on Kirk due to his prominence as a political figure. Both incidents reignited national conversations about gun violence and public safety in educational settings. Kirk’s death has also intensified already high tensions across the country, sparking fierce debate over his polarizing views and fueling broader conversations about free speech and political violence.
The murder of Kirk comes just months after a string of political attacks in Minnesota. On June 14, 2025, State Representative Melissa Hortman, the Democratic leader in the state House, was fatally shot at her home alongside her husband, Mark. Hours earlier, State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, had been shot and hospitalized in a nearby city.
Trump called the Hortmans’ deaths and the shooting of the Hoffman family “absolutely horrible,” yet said he would not be calling Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. “I don’t really call him,” Trump said on June 16, 2025. “I think the governor of Minnesota is so whacked out, I’m not calling him. Why would I call him?”
Trump continued, “I could call him, say, ‘Hi, how are you doing?’ The guy doesn’t have a clue, he’s a mess. So I could be nice and call him, but why waste time?’”
In response to Kirk’s death, Trump argued that the rhetoric of the “radical left” was “directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today.” However, Utah state records show Robinson was not registered with any political party; he was listed as an unaffiliated voter. In his remarks, Trump drew broader comparisons, citing the 2024 assassination attempt against him in Butler, Pennsylvania—which killed a bystander—as well as attacks on ICE agents, the 2017 shooting of Representative Steve Scalise, and other high-profile acts of violence.
Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika, and their two young children. In a statement, Erika Kirk vowed to carry on her late husband’s mission, stating:
“If you thought that my husband’s mission was powerful before, you have no idea what you’ve just unleashed across this entire country and this world.” She pledged to continue the “American Comeback Tour” and expand the movement.
