VA Leaders 'Horrified' After Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk Fatally Shot

Charlie Kirk, co-founder and CEO of the conservative youth group Turning Point USA, died Wednesday after being shot during a college event in Utah, according to an Associated Press report citing President Donald Trump.

Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin was quick to speak out following the shooting before Kirk succumbed to his injuries.

"Suzanne and I are praying for Charlie Kirk and his family," the governor posted on X.

The person who shot and killed Kirk on Wednesday in Utah was in custody, FBI Director Kash Patel said around 4:30 p.m. local time. But about two hours later Patel walked back that statement.

The FBI has released the person of interest after an interrogation by law enforcement, Patel said in a post on X. "Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency."

READ MORE:

• Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk Shot Dead In Utah
• Charlie Kirk Shooter In Custody After Conservative Activist Killed In Utah: FBI

The incident occurred during a Q&A session at the college in Orem. Videos circulating online appear to show Kirk recoiling after a shot was heard, with blood pouring from his neck. He was discussing gang violence just before the shooting in the videos.

Kirk, 31, founded Turning Point USA, an American nonprofit organization that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses, according to the company.

Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears also spoke out following the shooting.

"I join the nation in praying for @charliekirk11 and his family," she wrote. "Political violence cannot be tolerated."

The attack on Kirk, a conservative commentator and activist closely aligned with President Trump, drew swift condemnation from other Virginia leaders following the shooting.

As a mark of respect, Trump has ordered all flags to fly at half-staff in memory of Kirk until sunset on Sunday, September 14. (Read President Trump's Proclamation)

"Political violence has no place in a just society," U.S. Sen. Mark Warner wrote on X. "This horrible violence at Utah Valley University is incredibly tragic, unacceptable and should be universally condemned – my thoughts are with the Kirk family."

"We are living through a perilous moment," said Bishop Michael F. Burbidge of the Catholic Diocese of Arlingon in a statement on the shooting. "Our challenge is not only one of partisan disagreement, law, and policy, but in a deeper way our challenge is to uphold the central goods of American political life: of faith, of families, and of a national commitment to live together in harmony as brothers and sisters.

Before Kirk's death. U.S. Rep. Eugene Vindman said he was "closely monitoring" the situation in Utah.

"Political violence has NO place in our society," Vindman wrote.

Republican U.S. Rep. Jen Kiggans also condemned the shooting.

"Political violence is never acceptable," she said.

Rep. Rob Wittman said he was "horrified" by the shooting.

U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith called on political violence to be denounced, condemned and "extinguished from our society."

"Charlie Kirk loved his country. His courageous work promoting conservative values drew large audiences around the country," Griffith wrote. "This murder is horrific news."

A person who was taken into custody at Utah Valley University was not the suspect, according to a person familiar with the investigation who was not authorized to speak publicly. It was not clear if authorities were still searching the campus for a suspect.

The shooting comes amid a spike in political violence in the United States across all parts of the ideological spectrum.

The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade to demand Hamas release hostages, and a fire set at the house of Pennsylvania’s governor, who is Jewish, in April. The most notorious of these events is the shooting of Trump during a campaign rally last year.

Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political organization. The event had been met with divided opinions on campus. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures. The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its “commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry and constructive dialogue.”

Turning Point was founded in suburban Chicago in 2012 by Kirk, then 18, and William Montgomery, a Tea Party activist, to proselytize on college campuses for low taxes and limited government. It was not an immediate success.

But Kirk’s zeal for confronting liberals in academia eventually won over an influential set of conservative financiers.

Despite early misgivings, Turning Point enthusiastically backed Trump after he clinched the GOP nomination in 2016. Kirk served as a personal aide to Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, during the general election campaign.

Soon, Kirk was a regular presence on cable TV, where he leaned into the culture wars and heaped praise on the then-president. Trump and his son were equally effusive and often spoke at Turning Point conferences.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.