A nationwide manhunt is underway in the United States after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during a university event in Utah, sparking fears of rising political violence.
Kirk, 31, a close ally of former President Donald Trump and founder of the youth conservative movement Turning Point USA, was speaking at Utah Valley University on Wednesday when a gunman opened fire from a nearby rooftop.
Video from the event captured the moment a single shot rang out as Kirk answered questions from the audience. He was struck in the neck, collapsed in his chair, and later pronounced dead. The shooter, described by police as wearing dark clothing, escaped and remains at large.
President Trump, visibly shaken in a video statement from the Oval Office, blamed “radical left rhetoric” for fuelling violence and vowed to track down “each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity.” He ordered flags on federal buildings lowered to half-staff until Sunday.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox labelled the killing a “political assassination” and warned the perpetrator that authorities would pursue the harshest penalties available, including the death penalty. “We will find you, we will try you, and we will hold you accountable,” Cox said at a press conference.
The attack triggered shockwaves across the political spectrum. Former President Joe Biden condemned the shooting, writing: “There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now.” California Governor Gavin Newsom called it “disgusting, vile, and reprehensible,” while former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, herself a survivor of an assassination attempt, said she was “horrified.”
Kirk’s death leaves a deep void in America’s conservative movement. Since co-founding Turning Point USA in 2012, he became one of the most recognisable young voices in right-wing politics, building vast online followings and energising youth support for Trump through his outspoken defence of nationalism, Christianity, and gun rights.
The FBI has set up a digital tip line as heavily armed officers conduct door-to-door searches in Orem, Utah. Confusion briefly arose when FBI Director Kash Patel mistakenly suggested the suspect had been detained before retracting the claim.
Observers warn the assassination could further inflame tensions in an already polarised nation, with Kirk’s killing coming just three months after a Democratic lawmaker and her husband were shot dead in Minnesota.
