Conservative activist and media personality Charlie Kirk was shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, according to media reports. No immediate details were available about his condition or the circumstances of the shooting.
Kirk, 31, was on a campus stop of his "The American Comeback Tour," where he often sets up a "prove me wrong" table to debate students and members of the public. The appearance had drawn opposition on the campus; organizers of a petition said roughly 6,000 students had signed in protest of his visit.
Kirk rose to prominence after co-founding the conservative student group Turning Point USA in 2012 and was named to Forbes' 30 Under 30 list. He served as a speaker at Republican National Conventions, including as the youngest speaker at the 2016 convention and as an opening speaker in 2020. Turning Point's mission, according to its materials, is to mobilize students around principles such as limited government and free markets; the organization says it has a presence on thousands of high school and college campuses and claims hundreds of thousands of student members.
Kirk is a prominent figure in the pro-Trump, MAGA-aligned movement, and has built a large national following through books, media appearances and his podcast, The Charlie Kirk Show. Turning Point and its affiliated initiatives also run educational and faith-based programs that Kirk has promoted to young conservative activists.
The campus appearance this week came amid a series of controversies that have followed Kirk. In June, video from a Turning Point event in Dallas showed him telling a 14-year-old who said she aspired to be a political journalist that college might be pursued to find a husband, a remark that prompted social media backlash. In another incident last October, a man in Arizona was arrested and accused of making death threats against Kirk and former President Donald Trump; authorities said the suspect was booked into a local jail and faced charges related to threats and intimidation.
Officials at Utah Valley University and local law enforcement had not released a full account of the shooting at the time of initial reports. Campus events involving high-profile, polarizing speakers have in recent years prompted protests, petitions and heightened security at colleges across the country.
News organizations and authorities are expected to provide updates as investigators develop more information about the incident, the shooter and any potential charges. Kirk remains a central figure in conservative campus organizing and national political media, and his shooting at a university event marks a stark escalation in violence tied to appearances by political figures.