Conservative activist Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, was shot and killed Sept. 10 at Utah Valley University.
Kirk had been hosting one of his Prove Me Wrong debates, where he invited the public to challenge his political views.
According to the university, Kirk was shot shortly after noon, roughly 20 minutes after he began speaking on campus. UVU canceled classes after the shooting, and officers searched buildings as part of lockdown procedure. The university later announced that the Orem campus will remain closed until Monday, with all events and classes — including remote classes — suspended through Sunday.
Videos posted on social media show a single shot being fired and striking Kirk in the neck. FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X that the subject believed to be involved was in custody, then released after interrogation. The investigation remains active.
University spokesperson Ellen Treanor said the gunfire was potentially fired from the roof of the Losee Center, which gave the shooter higher elevation and a clear line of sight.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox called the shooting a political assassination and promised swift justice at a press conference.
“To whoever did this, we will find you, we will try you and hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law,” Cox said. “I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty in the state of Utah.”
Utah Tech University President Shane B. Smeed released an email to all Utah Tech staff and students expressing solidarity with UVU and the Kirk family. He said there are no known threats to Utah Tech but campus police will maintain an increased presence.
“While a university setting is conducive to the open and free exchange of different ideas and perspectives, acts of violence — on university campuses or anywhere — are frightening, deplorable, and never acceptable,” Smeed said.
Utah Tech announced on Instagram that the “D” will be lit green in solidarity with the Kirk family and the UVU community.
Turning Point USA, the conservative nonprofit Kirk founded in 2012, planned to visit 10 colleges over the next two months. He was set to return to Utah Sept. 30 for a Prove Me Wrong event at Utah State University in Logan.
Cox said at the press conference for anyone with information about the shooting to contact UVU campus police or local law enforcement.
