‘Subject’ in Charlie Kirk shooting has been questioned and released, FBI says
Authorities questioned and released a person of interest in the shooting of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk in Utah Wednesday afternoon, according to state and federal officials. Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two, died from his injuries.
“The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement,” FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X Wednesday. “Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency.”
Earlier, he wrote that the “subject” was in custody, and Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox referred to a “person of interest in custody.”
But Cox also hinted at an ongoing investigation.
CHARLIE KIRK, TURNING POINT USA FOUNDER, DEAD AT 31 AFTER UTAH CAMPUS SHOOTING
“I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this, we will find you,” he told reporters. “We will try you, and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law. And I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty here in the state of Utah.”
Authorities are asking anyone with information to come forward.
It marked the second moment of confusion as the public awaits news of an arrest in the broad daylight, assassination-style shooting.
A school spokeswoman initially said campus police had a suspect in custody but later reversed course.
The school had more than 46,000 students as of last fall. Campus authorities ordered a lockdown, have been escorting people to safety and are urging anyone still on school grounds to call them to be escorted to safety.
CHARLIE KIRK SHOT AT UTAH EVENT
Orem authorities said a shelter-in-place order was in effect. An organizer for the event told Fox News Digital many businesses in Orem and Provo were either closed or on lockdown.
A single gunshot rang out around 12:20 p.m. local time, she said, about 20 minutes into a speech from Kirk on campus.
Graphic video shows he was struck before panic ripples through the large crowd in attendance, with people screaming and running for cover. Other videos appear to show someone moving on the rooftop of a building across from where Kirk was fatally struck.
An event organizer told Fox News Digital that 1,400 people RVSP’ed for the event. The organizer said that many people came from out of the state to see Kirk speak.
“We had a speaker, Charlie Kirk, who was invited by a student group, Turning Point USA, who was speaking on campus today at noon,” Traenor said in a statement. “At about 12:20 shots were fired from a building about 200 yards from the speaker. To the best of our knowledge, the individual was hit and was taken away immediately by his security personnel.”
Authorities locked down the campus and canceled classes for the rest of the day. They told people on school grounds to shelter in place and said they were going door-to-door to escort people off campus. Roads in and out were closed.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“We ask for your patience throughout this process,” the school said in a statement. “We are providing updates as best as possible. This is an ongoing and unfolding event.”
Trump calls for prayers as he confirms Charlie Kirk has died: ‘Loved and admired by ALL’
President Donald Trump offered his condolences to the Kirk family after announcing that Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk had died after the conservative figure was shot in Utah.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump said in a social media post on Wednesday. “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!”
Earlier on Wednesday, Trump called for prayers for Kirk, and described him as a “great guy.”
CHARLIE KIRK SHOT AT UTAH EVENT, HOSPITALIZED
“We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!” Trump posted to Truth Social on Wednesday afternoon.
Kirk was in Utah and was scheduled to appear at Utah Valley University on Wednesday as part of his American Comeback Tour.
Kirk’s spokesperson originally confirmed that “Charlie Kirk has been shot at Utah Valley University. Condition unknown.”
Trump administration officials stretching from Vice President JD Vance to FBI Director Kash Patel offered an outpouring of concern and support to Kirk on social media on Wednesday afternoon.
CHARLIE KIRK SHOOTING SPARKS OUTPOURING OF PRAYERS, OUTRAGE ON CAPITOL HILL
“Dear God, protect Charlie in his darkest hour,” Vance posted, accompanied by a photo of him with Kirk and other Trump allies.
“Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,” Vance wrote in an earlier X post.
“We are closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected. Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation,” Patel posted on X.
“FBI and ATF agents are on the scene. PRAY FOR CHARLIE,” Attorney General Pam Bondi posted.
A White House official told Fox News that the situation room and NSA Rubio were actively engaged and monitoring the shooting and were in contact with state officials.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Kirk is the founder of Turning Point USA, a nonprofit that promotes conservative ideology for youths, especially on college campuses. Kirk had long been an ally of Trump’s and recently joined a White House event in May, when interim U.S. Attorney for Washington, D.C. Jeanine Pirro was sworn into her role, photos show.
Charlie Kirk assassination sparks bipartisan uproar over political violence
Lawmakers bridged the partisan divide on Wednesday after news that conservative activist Charlie Kirk, 31, was killed from a gunshot wound.
Prayers for Kirk’s recovery on social media swiftly turned into condolences to his family and a widespread condemnation of political violence from both Republicans and Democrats.
CHARLIE KIRK, TURNING POINT USA FOUNDER, DEAD AT 31 AFTER UTAH CAMPUS SHOOTING
“It’s devastating news,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said. “The idea that political violence has taken one of the strongest voices on the conservative side is a great heartbreak. Charlie was a close friend of mine and a confidant, and he will be sorely missed, and we need every political leader to decry the violence and to do it loudly. The problem is in the human heart, and it’s gotten out of hand.”
“This is beyond terrible,” Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said. “Charlie Kirk was a husband, father, and son. Violence is never the answer. Sydney and I are keeping the Kirk family in our prayers.”
DEMS, GOP LAWMAKERS JOIN FORCES TO CONDEMN POLITICAL VIOLENCE AFTER CHARLIE KIRK SHOT
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., addressed Kirk’s death on the Senate floor and said that “political violence, which this attack seems to be, has no place in this country — none.”
“I’m deeply disturbed about the threat of violence that has entered our political life, and I pray that we will remember that every person, no matter how vehement our disagreement with them, is a human being and a fellow American deserving of respect and protection,” he said.
President Donald Trump confirmed the news on Truth Social and said, “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.”
CHARLIE KIRK ROSE TO BECOME CONSERVATIVE POWERHOUSE, TRANSFORMATIVE CAMPUS FIGURE
Kirk was shot during an event on his “American Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University on Wednesday afternoon. The university initially said that a suspect was in custody but later announced that the person was released.
Campus police on Wednesday afternoon asked students to call a hotline and be escorted off.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, called Kirk “an American patriot, an inspiration to countless young people to stand up and defend the timeless truths that make our country great.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“This murder was a cowardly act of violence, an attack on champions of freedom like Charlie, the students who gathered for civil debate, and all Americans who peacefully strive to save our nation,” he said.
“The terrorists will not win,” he continued. “Charlie will. Please join me in praying for his wife Erika and their children. May justice be swift.”
Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., urged, “We must collectively find a way forward during these polarized times.”
His death follows a wave of high-profile political assassination attempts in an increasingly polarized political environment.
Trump survived two separate assassination attempts within weeks of each other while running for re-election in 2024. Meanwhile, a gunman in Minnesota shot and killed state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, while critically injuring another state lawmaker, this past June.
MSNBC apologizes after liberal analyst’s vile comments about Kirk shooting
MSNBC issued an apology on Wednesday after liberal analyst Matthew Dowd suggested Charlie Kirk’s “hateful” rhetoric led to his shooting and speculated that one of his supporters may have fired the shot in celebration.
“During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable,” MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler said in a statement. “We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise.”
After Kirk was shot Wednesday afternoon, Dowd suggested it was caused by a chain reaction from his “hateful words” against various groups. Kirk, a leading conservative activist and top ally of President Donald Trump, later died at the age of 31.
Before the news that Kirk had died, Dowd told MSNBC host Katy Tur, “We don’t know any of the full details of this yet. We don’t know if this was a supporter shooting their gun off in celebration.”
CHARLIE KIRK ASSASSINATION SPARKS BIPARTISAN UPROAR OVER POLITICAL VIOLENCE AS UTAH MANHUNT UNDERWAY
While the news of Kirk’s shooting was met with swift condemnations and calls for prayer across the political aisle, Dowd appeared to blame Kirk for bringing the circumstances on himself.
Dowd said Kirk has been “one of the most divisive, especially divisive younger figures in this, who is constantly sort of pushing this sort of hate speech or sort of aimed at certain groups. And I always go back to, hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions.”
“I think that’s the environment we’re in, that the people just — you can’t stop with these sort of awful thoughts you have, and then saying these awful words, and not expect awful actions to take place. And that’s the unfortunate environment we’re in,” he added.
TRUMP RESPONDS TO CHARLIE KIRK SHOOTING: ‘LOVED AND ADMIRED BY ALL’
“And that’s the unfortunate environment we’re in,” the MSNBC analyst concluded.
During coverage of the shooting, Tur called Kirk “a divisive figure, polarizing, lightning rod. Whatever term you want to use.”
Editor-in-chief of The Federalist and Fox News contributor Molly Hemmingway criticized MSNBC’s handling of the situation, saying they issued a “very quiet tweet on an account with 20K followers.”
Dowd, a Democrat who was formerly a Republican strategist and an independent, is one of the most rabidly anti-GOP voices on cable news. He made a failed bid for the Democratic nomination for Texas lieutenant governor in 2021.
CHARLIE KIRK SHOOTING LEADS TO OUTPOURING FROM UTAH OFFICIALS, 2025 NOMS ON BOTH SIDES
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Jason Aldean, Candace Cameron Bure mourn Charlie Kirk after his death at 31
Jason Aldean and Candace Cameron Bure reacted to Charlie Kirk’s death on social media after the father-of-two was shot and killed at an event in Utah.
President Donald Trump confirmed Kirk’s death in a post on Truth Social.
“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,” Trump wrote. “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!”
Kirk, 31, was initially in critical condition at a hospital after being shot Wednesday outside of Utah Valley University in Orem, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.
CHARLIE KIRK SHOT AT UTAH EVENT, HOSPITALIZED
Candace Cameron Bure shared an image of the father-of-two on Instagram, and wrote, “We love you Charlie. Well done good and faithful servant.”
Jason Aldean shared a black-and-white image of Kirk on social media with “1993-2025” written underneath the image.
Savannah Chrisley reshared an Instagram post that read, “Rest in Peace Charlie.” She initially reacted to the news Kirk was shot, and wrote on social media at the time, “I am devastated… I don’t have the words. PRAY! PRAY! PRAY!”
LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
Kid Rock posted on his Instagram stories, “God Bless Charlie Kirk. A true PATRIOT. Pray for him.”
Arnold Schwarzenegger shared on X, “My heart is with Charlie Kirk’s family, and with the United States. Politics has become a disease in this country, and it’s deadly. But don’t listen to the pessimists who say there is no cure. There is a cure. It is inside of us.
“We must find our better angels and walk back from the extremes. If we can’t agree on anything else, we must find agreement that we don’t solve our debates with violence. This is a horrible tragedy. May it also be a moment for everyone to rediscover their humanity.”
APP USERS CLICK HERE TO VIEW POST
In a statement to Fox News Digital, Pat Boone called Kirk “A true modern hero.”
“Charlie Kirk was, and will always be, an Apostle, just like Peter, James and John in the Bible…a messenger with a vital, soul-shaping and life-saving message. He served the same Lord unabashedly and courageously and effectively, scattering precious seed everywhere he went. His message, one of joyous and lasting victory, his love even for those who disagreed, was evident and contagious,” he said. “And his reward, though too soon — “to be absent from the body and present with His Lord.” 2 Corinthians 5:8 A true modern hero.”
Mandy Moore shared a post on her Instagram stories which read, “Gun violence doesn’t care about ideology.”
She paired the post with her own caption, which reads, “There is no room for political violence in the discourse. Ever. You can disagree with someone’s beliefs but this is a terrifying consequence of the world we’re living in and it’s a cancer. I can’t stop thinking about Charlie Kirk’s wife and their small kids. My heart is with them and all who loved him.”
“Real Housewives of Dallas” star, Kameron Westcott, paid tribute via an Instagram post, which featured photos of Kirk with his family, as well as various members of her family.
“No matter what our political views, true violence is never the answer….A true patriot and advocate of freedom of speech and family values was lost today! I am heartbroken,” she wrote in the caption. “Today is a sad day for AMERICA. Praying for his wife, daughters & beautiful family.”
APP USERS CLICK HERE FOR POST
Chris Pratt wrote on X prior to reports of Kirk’s death, “Praying for Charlie Kirk right now, for his wife and young children, for our country. We need God’s grace. God help us.”
Dean Cain told Fox News Digital he was “truly” heartbroken. Prior to his death, Cain said, “I am absolutely heartbroken and praying for Charlie and his family. This will not have the desired effect. This will not intimidate nor stop people from speaking the truth.”
Rob Schneider wrote on X at the time, “As we pray for our dear friend and brother in Christ, American Patriot, Father, Husband and son, Charlie Kirk, We know that our God is a loving God. And we must remember that vengeance is the Lord’s. Not ours.”
He added the Bible verse, “Deuteronomy 32:35 ‘To me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time: for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.’ May Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior bless and heal our brother Charlie, and give peace to his family and friends at this time.”
Video posted from the event appeared to show Kirk being shot as he spoke to the crowd from under a white pop-up tent. After the shot, the crowd dispersed, with onlookers shouting, “Run, run, run!”
CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
The suspect is not in custody, Utah Valley University said in a statement.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In a statement to Fox News Digital, UVU spokesperson Ellen Treanor said: “A suspect was in custody initially, but to the best of my knowledge, that individual has been released. Our campus police are currently investigating in conjunction with the Orem police.”
Charlie Kirk’s assassination latest case of conservatives being targeted for murder
The horrific assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk Wednesday is the latest entry in a grim and growing tally of conservative figures and institutions being targeted for violence, vandalism and murder.
The fatal shooting follows a lengthy recent history of conservatives and Republicans facing violence, a Fox News Digital review of the last four years found, including two assassination attempts against President Donald Trump in a roughly two-month span in 2024.
Kirk was speaking at Utah Valley University as part of his “American Comeback Tour” when shots rang out and he collapsed on stage. He was rushed to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The 31-year-old husband and father was a staunch ally of President Donald Trump’s, and toured the nation promoting right-of-center ideology to youths, most notably on college campuses. He founded his conservative group more than a dozen years ago.
CHARLIE KIRK, TURNING POINT USA FOUNDER, DEAD AT 31 AFTER UTAH CAMPUS SHOOTING
Conservatives and pro-life nonprofits have been targeted with shootings, arson, and vandalism in just the past four years.
Trump himself has faced two assassination attempts, including on July 13, 2024, when he was shot in the ear while joining a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. The shooting rocked the election cycle as Trump rose, bleeding and defiant, and urged the crowd to “Fight, fight, fight.” The assassination attempt came just two days before the Republican National Convention was set to kick off in Milwaukee.
Trump appeared at the convention while wearing a bandage on his ear, and noted how he “had God on my side” during the attempt. The motive of the would-be assassin, 20-year-old Thomas Crooks, who was killed by a Secret Service sniper, remains unclear. The FBI has pointed to a complex web of personal grievances, mental health issues and a desire for notoriety as leading to the act, Fox News Digital previously reported.
RYAN ROUTH TRIAL OPENS WITH BIZARRE JURY QUESTIONS AND WITNESS DRAMA
Just weeks later on Sept. 15, 2024, Trump was rushed off of his golf course in Florida when shots rang out. The suspect in that assassination attempt case, Ryan Routh, posted prolifically about Trump, the 2024 election and politics in the lead up to the attempt, Fox News Digital previously reported.
Routh is going on trial Thursday over the case, and described the president as an “insecure ego idiot-mad fool” in court documents in September, the New York Post reported.
RILEY GAINES ‘AMBUSHED AND PHYSICALLY HIT’ AFTER SAVING WOMEN’S SPORTS SPEECH AT SAN FRANCISCO STATE
Attacks on conservatives have unfolded at the grassroots level, as well, including this year when the New Mexico Republican Party’s headquarters faced an arson attack. The attack destroyed the entrance to the headquarters, while graffiti reading “ICE=KKK” scrawled on the building.
The suspect in that case, who also allegedly attacked a Tesla Albuquerque Showroom, was hit with federal charges as Attorney General Pam Bondi pointed to the incident as a disturbing case of political violence.
TPUSA chapters around the nation have also faced other incidents of violence this year, including when a group of students with Turning Point USA at UC Davis were attacked by masked individuals in April, Fox Digital reported at the time.
The conservative group was in the midst of hosting a “Prove me Wrong” event with a guest speaker when protesters destroyed camera gear, a tent, event signage, flipped tables, and assaulted group staff, TPUSA said at the time.
PRO-LIFE NY LEADERS SLAM HOCHUL, AG JAMES FOR ‘MISERABLY’ FAILING STATE AT REOPENING OF ‘FIREBOMBED’ OFFICE
Looking back at 2023, former NCAA swimmer and conservative political activist Riley Gaines was also attacked and barricaded in a room at San Francisco State University following a speech to students promoting a ban on biological males from playing in women’s sports. The event was part of a Turning Point USA and Leadership Institute forum on campus.
DATA SHOW THERE HAVE BEEN 22 TIMES MORE ATTACKS ON PRO-LIFERS THAN PRO-CHOICE GROUPS SINCE SUPREME COURT LEAK
Churches and pro-life groups have also faced dozens upon dozens of attacks beginning in 2022 in response to the Supreme Court’s decision, which effectively ended the recognition of abortion as a constitutional right.
The attacks included a pro-life center that was “firebombed” in Buffalo, New York, in 2022, Catholic churches that were vandalized and set on fire, and pro-choice protesters interrupting church services and Catholic masses. The attacks followed a radical pro-choice group declaring in a public letter that it was “open season” on pro-lifers.
In 2017, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., was shot along with three others when James Hodgkinson, a deranged supporter of Bernie Sanders, sprayed an Alexandria, Virginia, baseball field with gunfire as Republican lawmakers practiced for the annual Congressional Baseball Game. Scalise nearly died, but recovered and remains in office.
The fatal shooting of Kirk on Wednesday has not yet yielded a suspect, with the FBI and ATF on the ground and investigating, according to Bondi.
Trump, as well as members of his Cabinet, have offered an outpouring of support to Kirk’s family following the tragedy.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump said on Truth Social on Wednesday. “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!”
Yankees honor Charlie Kirk ahead of high-stakes game with moment of silence
The New York Yankees held a moment of silence ahead of Wednesday night’s game against the Detroit Tigers to honor conservative influencer Charlie Kirk. Kirk died after being shot at a speaking event in Utah earlier in the day.
The team displayed a photo of Kirk on their jumbotron ahead of the game with the message “remembering Charlie Kirk.”
CHARLIE KIRK, TURNING POINT USA FOUNDER, DEAD AT 31 AFTER UTAH CAMPUS SHOOTING
“Before tonight’s game we held a moment of silence in memoriam of Charlie Kirk. Kirk founded the youth activist group ‘Turning Point USA’ and had become a fixture on college campuses. Charlie Kirk, a husband and father of two children, was 31 years old,” the team said in a post on X.
“The conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA was declared dead shortly after being shot during a campus event at Utah Valley University. “
President Donald Trump confirmed Kirk’s death in a post on Truth Social.
“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,” Trump wrote. “Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
The incident prompted emotional responses from many prominent figures in the sports world, including former Yankee Mark Teixeira and New York Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
Kirk died after he was taken to a hospital in critical condition after being shot Wednesday at a Utah event, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.
Video posted from the event appeared to show Kirk being shot as he spoke to the crowd from under a white pop-up tent. After the shot, the crowd dispersed, with onlookers shouting, “Run, run, run!”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The FBI said “the subject” of the shooting is in custody.