Charlie Kirk Vigil Draws Nearly 4,000 In Ocean County

BRICK, NJ — Nearly 4,000 people gathered at Windward Beach Park in Brick on Sunday night for a vigil remembering Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist who was assassinated Sept. 10 during a public appearance at a university in Utah.

The killing of Kirk, the founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, has sparked outrage and grief among millions. In Ocean County, the sentiments prompted a grassroots vigil to allow his supporters to gather and remember the 31-year-old who is credited with ensuring Donald Trump's election as president in 2016 because he helped garner youth support for Trump.

Joe Loughlin of Brick, who suggested the vigil, worked with Chris Lyle of Jersey Coast Emergency News to promote the event, which was livestreamed on the Jersey Coast Emergency News Facebook page. Part 1 of the livestream lasted just over an hour, and second part was about 7 minutes long.

Brick Township Patrol Officer Terence Berkeley of the community policing division said there were between 3,000 and 4,000 people in attendance.

Photos showed people holding a variety of signs reading everything from "Pray" to "We Are Charlie Kirk", and a number of boats anchored up on the Metedeconk River just off Windward Beach, in addition to those who gathered in the park.

Kirk was assassinated during a stop on his "American Comeback" tour on Wednesday. A suspect in the fatal shooting, Tyler Robinson, 22, of Utah, was taken into custody Friday. Read more: 5 Things To Know About Tyler Robinson, Charlie Kirk's Accused Killer