Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of US President Donald Trump, died Wednesday after being shot at a college event, Trump said.
The co-founder and CEO of the youth organisation Turning Point USA, the 31-year-old Kirk is the latest victim in a spasm of political violence across the United States.
Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans "The American Comeback" and "Prove Me Wrong."
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A single shot rings out and Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as a large volume of blood gushes from the left side of his neck.
Stunned spectators are heard gasping and screaming before people start to run away. The AP was able to confirm the videos were taken at Sorensen Centre courtyard on the Utah Valley University campus.
"We are confirming that he was shot and we are praying for Charlie," said Aubrey Laitsch, public relations manager for Turning Point USA.
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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 authorised to speak publicly. The mayor has confirmed the search for the shooter is still underway.
Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political organisation. The event had been met with divided opinions on campus.
An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1000 signatures.
The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its "commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue."
Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit to Utah colleges was sparking controversy. He wrote, "What's going on in Utah?"
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The college said a "single shot" had been fired at Kirk and a suspect was in custody.
President Donald Trump and a host of Republican and Democratic elected officials decried the shooting and offered prayers for Kirk 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 posted on Truth Social.
The shooting comes amid a spike in political violence in the US across all parts of the ideological spectrum.
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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.
Former Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, a Republican who was at the event, said in an interview on Fox News Channel that he heard one shot and saw Kirk go back.
"It seemed like it was a close shot," Chaffetz said, who seemed shaken as he spoke.
He said there was a light police presence at the event and Kirk had some security but not enough.
"Utah is one of the safest places on the planet," he said.
"And so we just don't have these types of things."
Turning Point was founded in suburban Chicago in 2012 by Kirk, then 18, and William Montgomery, a Tea Party activist, to proselytise 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.
More to come.
