Activist Charlie Kirk Fatally Shot; MA Leaders React

Charlie Kirk, co-founder and CEO of the conservative youth group Turning Point USA, died Wednesday after he was shot during a college event in Utah, President Trump told The Associated Press. The college reported that a suspect was taken into custody.

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren was quick to condemn the shooting.

"This shooting is nothing short of horrific," Warren, a former presidential candidate, posted to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

"I'm praying for Charlie Kirk and thinking of the students at the event in Utah," Warren said. "Political violence has no place in our country — it's never ok."

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey also took to X to speak out against the gun attack.

"Violence has no place in our politics — ever," Healey posted.

"What happened to Charlie Kirk is horrific and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms," Healey said. "The growth of political violence in our country must be stopped."Violence has no place in our politics — ever. What happened to Charlie Kirk is horrific and we condemn it in the strongest possible terms.

The growth of political violence in our country must be stopped.
— Governor Maura Healey (@MassGovernor) September" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/MassGovern... 10, 2025

Massauchusetts Sen. Ed Markey denounced the shooting and all political violence.

"We must denounce political violence in all its forms," Markey posted to X.

"I condemn the shooting of Charlie Kirk," Markey said. "There must be no place for this heinous violence in America."

We must denounce political violence in all its forms. I condemn the shooting of Charlie Kirk. There must be no place for this heinous violence in America.
— Ed Markey (@SenMarkey) September" class="redactor-linkify-object">https://twitter.com/SenMarkey/... 10, 2025

Videos shared on social media from Utah Valley University show Kirk seated beneath a white tent marked with the slogans “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong,” speaking into a handheld microphone. A single gunshot is heard, and Kirk clutches his neck as blood pours from the left side. Spectators gasp and scream before scattering. The Associated Press confirmed the footage was recorded at the Sorensen Center courtyard on the UVU campus.

“We are confirming that he was shot and we are praying for Charlie,” said Aubrey Laitsch, public relations manager for Turning Point USA.

Kirk had been speaking at a debate organized by his nonprofit. The appearance was controversial on campus: an online petition urging administrators to block the event drew nearly 1,000 signatures. In response, the university issued a statement last week citing the First Amendment and reaffirming its “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.”

Days earlier, Kirk posted on X about the backlash, sharing screenshots of local news coverage of his Utah campus tour with the caption: “What’s going on in Utah?”

The university confirmed that a “single shot” had been fired and that a suspect was in custody.

President Donald Trump and numerous elected officials from both parties condemned the shooting and offered prayers on social media. “We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

As a mark of respect, President Trump has ordered all flags to fly at half-staff in memory of Charlie Kirk, a political activist, who was assassinated at a Utah university on Wednesday afternoon. Flags will fly at half-staff until sunset on Sunday, September 14.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.