Charlie Kirk, conservative activist and Trump ally, dead after being shot at US college
Police hunt for the killer of the 31-year-old Turning Point USA co-founder, who was shot in the neck at a university event
US President Donald Trump’s confirmation of the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, his close ally, at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday has sent shock waves through an already deeply divided nation.
“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”, Trump wrote on social media.
Calling it a “dark moment for America”, Trump in a video address from the Oval Office vowed to carry out a crackdown on those responsible, as he hailed Kirk as a “martyr for truth”.
“My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organisations that fund it and support it,” Trump said, blaming rhetoric from the “radical left” for the killing.
On Thursday, Trump announced that he will be awarding Kirk posthumously with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor awarded by the US President.
Kirk, who was 31 years old, co-founded Turning Point USA, a non-profit promoting conservative values on school campuses, in 2021. He rose to fame through his confrontational campus debates and social media presence, becoming a key figure in mobilising young Republicans and aligning with Trump.