Jason Chaffetz, a Fox News contributor and former U.S. representative from Utah, said he was among the audience when Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was shot during a Wednesday event at Utah Valley University and described a scene of panic as attendees scrambled for cover.
Chaffetz told Fox News he was on an upper level with family members and friends in a crowd of about 2,000 people at the Orem, Utah, campus. He said the first audience question that night concerned religion and ran 15 to 20 minutes, and that the second question — immediately before the shooting — related to "transgender mass shooters."
"I happened to be watching Charlie. I can’t say I saw blood. I can’t say I saw him get shot, but as soon as that shot went out, he fell back and to his left and everybody hit the deck," Chaffetz said. He described immediate screams and people running, and said there had been only a light police presence and no security screening at the entrance. "Charlie has some security in front of him. But you got this sense that the shot came straight at him," he added.
Chaffetz said the event had been largely peaceful and that even protesters in attendance were "not disruptive and very respectful" before the shooting. He said he remained "in shock" after the incident and expressed concern about the role politics might have played in the attack, though he acknowledged that could draw criticism. "I think when this story is written, I don’t think it was a coincidence that the shot rang out when you have a question about transgender mass shootings," he said.
The Turning Point USA founder was taken to a hospital after the shooting, according to media reports, and political figures from both parties condemned the violence. Chaffetz praised Kirk’s work in engaging younger voters, saying he had built a coalition based on policy debate and outreach to a generation "who wasn’t getting it in the classroom."
Chaffetz, who represented Utah’s 3rd Congressional District from 2009 to 2017, described Orem as "one of the safest places on the planet," and said the scale of the incident felt out of character for the community. He said he assumed there may have been undercover officers among the crowd but emphasized that no security screening occurred at the event.
The shooting prompted an immediate response from law enforcement and renewed calls from elected officials on both sides of the aisle to condemn political violence. Chaffetz said he hoped Kirk would survive the attack and called for a full accounting of what happened.
Investigations into the shooting and the motives behind it were continuing, and officials have urged anyone with information to come forward. Chaffetz’s account adds an on-the-ground perspective to evolving coverage of an attack that has drawn widespread attention and prompted renewed debate about security at political events.