Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot on stage Wednesday at an event at Utah Valley University (UVU) after a brief exchange with a student who approached the microphone to challenge his comments about transgender mass shooters, the student said in a video released Thursday.
Hunter Kozak, 29, a UVU mathematics student who uses the name Hunter Stax online, said in the recording that he questioned Kirk about the number of transgender Americans who had carried out mass shootings over the past decade. According to the video, Kirk responded "Too many," and Kozak said the correct number was five. The video captures Kirk asking, "Counting or not counting gang violence?" moments before a single shot struck him in the neck.
In the social media clip shared Thursday, Kozak reflected on the "twisted irony" of his effort to argue that the political left is nonviolent immediately before Kirk was killed. He condemned online users he said were celebrating the killing and called on people to remain peaceful. "First off, you sick f—ing psychos that think this is the answer, it's not," he said, while describing his grief for Kirk and his family.
Kozak, who told viewers he and his family disagree with much of Kirk's politics, said in the video that the activist nonetheless "was still a human being" and that the conversation itself was something they shared in common. Law enforcement sources initially reported that investigators recovered ammunition at the scene engraved with references to "transgender and anti-fascist ideology," but a Justice Department source later said the agency could not substantiate those details.
Federal authorities circulated images of a person of interest as the FBI and local law enforcement conducted a continuing search for the shooter late Thursday. No arrest had been reported. The FBI image released to the public was labeled by the bureau as undated.
Kirk, 31, known for founding the conservative student movement Turning Point USA and for his "Prove Me Wrong" events on college campuses, was answering questions at an appearance on his "The American Comeback Tour" when he collapsed after being struck. He was transported to a hospital but was later pronounced dead. Organizers said his body was flown from Utah to Phoenix, Arizona, where he lived with his wife, Erika Frantzve, and their two young children.
The shooting prompted an outpouring of statements from political figures. Former President Donald Trump posted that Kirk was "loved and admired by ALL, especially me," and directed that flags be flown at half-staff through Sunday evening. Local authorities said the venue had drawn thousands of attendees for the event.
Kirk built a national profile by engaging directly with college students and conservative activists, and clips of his campus debates circulated widely online. In one widely shared exchange years earlier, Kirk invited a young gay man into the conservative movement, saying he did not want a person's sexual orientation to be the primary label for their identity and welcoming common political views such as support for stronger borders.
Investigators have not publicly identified a motive. Officials have urged anyone with information to contact law enforcement as the search for the person of interest continued. The FBI photo release reflected the agency's public appeal for leads in a case that has reverberated across political and campus communities.
Kozak in his video emphasized the human cost of the killing, noting that both he and Kirk were fathers. "Charlie had two kids and a wife," he said. "If my 1-year-old boy, like his 1-year-old boy, would grow up without memories of his dad… it's a tragedy." He repeated his call for peaceful discourse in the wake of the assassination and urged people not to celebrate the violence.
Authorities provided few additional details Thursday about the weapon or the suspect's whereabouts. The investigation remained active, with federal and local agencies coordinating efforts to identify and locate the individual seen in the circulated images and to establish a timeline of events surrounding the shooting.