Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was speaking during his national The American Comeback Tour at Utah Valley University, when he was killed by a bullet on Sept. 10.
Thousands of people at this event came to listen to — or challenge — Kirk, who had just started his tour of ten U.S. colleges, as it was being broadcast on live television.
An attendee of the event asked him, “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last ten years?”
Kirk responded, “Counting or not counting gang violence?”
Then, a ‘pop’ sounds through the air.
Kirk was then struck in his neck by a bullet. The crowd broke into panic, and some rage, sending everyone fleeing off campus. Many attendees at the event recorded the chaotic scene and shared footage widely on social media platforms.
Kirk was then rushed to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Kirk — a right-wing American conservative political activist, author and influencer — was best known for his rallies where he spoke out on controversial topics such as immigration, race, social issues, gun rights, abortion and more.
Kirk’s shooter was taken into custody after a 33-hour long manhunt. He has been identified as Tyler Robinson after his father helped persuade him to surrender to police.
A law enforcement official briefed on the investigation told CNN when Robinson’s father urged him to turn himself in, he suggested that he would rather kill himself. It wasn’t until his father convinced him to talk with a youth pastor that Robinson agreed to be taken into custody.
While the direct motive has not yet been uncovered, it was found that anit-facist messages have been engraved on the bullet casings. One of them, inscribed with “Hey fascist! Catch! ↑ → ↓↓↓” and another, “Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao ciao.”
Governor of Utah, Spencer Cox said the one referring to fascists “speaks for itself.”
The messages on the bullet casings included a mix of memes, references to video games and the online world in a very unserious manner. The other two read, “If you read this, you are gay LMAO” and “notices, bulges, OWO, what’s this?”
It’s been speculated the memes were used as a method of mockery and trolling, to make a joke of everything or because Robinson knew that they would be talked about.
Despite these messages, relatives of Robinson told investigators that he had a very conservative family, yet, “very different,” political views and a, “leftist ideology.”
The public responded to this tragedy almost immediately, “Charlie Kirk,” trending on nearly every social platform. “Charlie Kirk” was at 100% peak popularity Google search interest on Sept. 16.
On his Truth Social account Trump posted, “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. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
AP US Government teacher Adam Malenius stated that, while he did not follow Charlie Kirk, “political violence is obviously never a good thing.”
Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, pledged to continue her husband’s legacy of political activism through his Turning Point USA organization.
“To everyone listening tonight across America, the movement my husband built will not die. It won’t,” Erika said, “I refuse to let that happen.”
“No one will ever forget my husband’s name, and I will make sure of it,” Erika said.
The story is still changing as investigators uncover new details about the shooter’s motives and political affiliations. Yet, many are nervous to speak out due to controversy after reports that people are losing their jobs for expressing their views on social media.