Right-wing influencer who helped reelect Trump shot while speaking to students

A prominent right-wing political activist who helped Donald Trump win the 2024 election has reportedly been shot at a Utah event.

Charlie Kirk, 31, who co-founded Turning Point USA, was shot in the neck during a question-and-answer session with students at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday, Deseret News reported.

One suspect has been taken into custody, according to a university alert to students.

‘A single shot was fired on campus toward a visiting speaker,’ stated the alert.

Moments before being shot, Kirk sat under a tent with The American Comeback Tour branding and spoke to a crowd of students, many of them wearing red MAGA hats.

Videos circulating social media show people in the crowd shouting, ‘Run, run run,’ and dispersing.

Kirk’s spokesman has stated that he ‘has been shot at Utah Valley University. Condition unknown.’

The university has been placed on lockdown.

Trump quickly sounded off in support of Kirk.

‘We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot,’ he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

‘A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!’

Vice President JD Vance wrote on X: ‘I am tracking the situation at Utah Valley University closely. Please join me in praying for Charlie Kirk and the students gathered there.’

Senator Mike Lee said he was also tracking the situation ‘closely’.

‘Please join me in praying for Charlie Kirk and the students gathered there,’ he wrote on X.

Democrats also condemned the shooting.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, a longtime rival of Trump, called the attack on Kirk ‘disgusting, vile, and reprehensible’.

‘In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form,’ Newsom wrote on X.

KUTV journalist Heidi Hatch wrote on X that her son was near the stage and was preparing to debate Kirk when ‘he said there was one loud gunshot and Kirk’s head flew back’.

‘Kids started screaming and running,’ Hatch reported, adding that her son was safe in his apartment.

The Deseret News reported that the suspect was an older man. His identity has not been released.

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