Manhunt for Charlie Kirk killers at Utah Valley University event ongoing

The controversial gun control debate in the United States of America (USA) has reared its ugly head once more following the broad daylight fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, an influential ally of US President Donald while speaking at a campus event at Utah Valley University.

The Conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk died yesterday after he was taken out while giving an address.

Kirk was aged 31 years old.

Last evening, state authorities said a suspect has not been identified but a “manhunt” for the shooter is still in progress.

Two people who were taken into custody earlier were not tied to the shooting and were later released.

Utah Valley University police said they were going “building to building” to evacuate people.

“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by all, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!” President Trump posted on Trump Social

Kirk was participating in an event at the Orem, Utah, school as part of his organization’s “The American Comeback Tour” when he was attacked.

The university said in a statement shared to social media that a shot was fired at Kirk shortly after 12 p.m. local time, and he was hit.

Sources say a single shot was fired that fatally ended Kirk’s life.

Video of the incident showed Kirk speaking to a large crowd at an outdoor “Prove Me Wrong” debate, where he invites students to challenge his political and cultural views, when the shot rings out.

Elected officials on both sides of the aisle had swiftly condemned the attack on Kirk and denounced acts of political violence.

Yesterday evening, Vice President JD Vance noted that Kirk advocated “in public and private” for President Trump to pick him as his running mate last year, following what Vance described as an eight-year-long friendship between the vice president and the conservative commentator.

Vance said he first interacted with Kirk in 2017, when he sent Vance a complimentary message on Twitter following an appearance on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” The vice president noted that both he and Kirk were initially Trump “skeptics” before becoming vociferous supporters.

The vice president said Kirk was “one of the first people I called” when Vance mulled a run in Ohio’s 2022 Senate race, a campaign that vaulted him into politics. During that campaign, he said Kirk introduced him to Donald Trump Jr., a close Kirk ally.

Kirk and Vance remained in close contact after that, including during the 2024 campaign, the vice president said. He praised Turning Point USA’s role in organizing pro-Trump events last year and credited Kirk with some of the Trump administration’s personnel decisions.

“So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene,” Vance wrote. “He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.”