Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at Utah Valley University, sparking an urgent FBI manhunt and widespread political condemnation.
Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot during a student-sponsored event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on September 10, 2025, in an attack that sent shockwaves through the political world and the university community. Kirk, 31, was speaking at an outdoor event attended by roughly 3,000 people when gunfire erupted at approximately 12:20 p.m. Mountain Time. Utah officials said Kirk was shot during the event and was transported to Timpanogos Regional Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. The FBI and Utah Department of Public Safety subsequently launched a major investigation into the killing.
The sudden violence transformed what had been a political discussion on a college campus into a scene of confusion and panic. Witnesses described people reacting immediately to the gunfire as law enforcement moved to secure the area and determine where the attack had originated. Authorities later said the shooting was believed to have been a targeted attack and that the gunman fired from the roof of a nearby building overlooking the university’s outdoor event area. Investigators recovered what they believed to be the weapon used in the shooting, described by the FBI as a high-powered bolt-action rifle, along with other evidence from locations associated with the attack.