Charlie Kirk was gravely wounded after he was shot while on stage during a stop at Utah Valley University kicking off his American Comeback Tour Wednesday, just as he answered a question from an audience member about mass shootings committed by transgender people.
Asked if Kirk was in the hospital, President Trump told The Post somberly, “He’s not doing well…yes, it looks very bad,” adding that he was feeling “not good” about the shooting.
“He was a very, very good friend of mine and he was a tremendous person,” the president said.
Kirk was rushed to a nearby hospital for emergency surgery, but his condition is touch-and-go, a nurse told a longtime friend and former Turning Point USA employee Laci Williams who relayed that information to The Post.
Kirk moments before the shooting.
The conservative influencer jerked back and appeared to recoil in pain and grab at his neck as the crack of a single gunshot rang out from the crowd, a video from the scene shows, but the extent of his injuries are not clear.
There were conflicting reports about whether a suspect was in custody, with video circulating on social media showing an older man being hauled away by police.
Kirk, 31, was conducting a Q&A session from a pop-up tent on campus when a gunman fired a shot from the university’s Losee Center with a long gun around 200 feet away from where he was speaking, according to sources and a university spokesperson, sending thousands of spectators into a panic.
The conservative influencer was conducting a Q&A session from a pop-up tent on campus at at Utah Valley University.X/@charliekirk11
“He fell back to his left. Everybody hit the deck. Everybody was screaming, then everybody was running,” he said.
Chaffetz added while Kirk had some security guards in front of where he was speaking, there were no security checks going in and the event had a light police presence.
He told the outlet he believed it was “no coincidence” Kirk was shot during the question about transgender mass shootings, adding that he realized “he may be criticized for that.”
Chaffetz said he believed that Kirk was shot at close proximity from the front of the stage.
Laci Williams, a friend of Kirk’s and former south-central regional manager of the field department for Turning Point USA, said a nurse at the hospital where Kirk is being treated told her they “don’t know if there’s a chance” he will survive the attack, but that he’s still alive.
“Charlie is one of my dearest friends and one of my biggest heroes. I’m praying for him and his family so much right now, his kids, his wife Erika. I can’t even imagine what they’re going through,” she told The Post.
Kirk jerked back and appeared to grab at his neck as the shot rang out.
Police in Orem, Utah — where the university is located — could not provide further details but promised to keep The Post updated as more details emerged.
President Trump addressed the attack in a Truth Social post, writing, “We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!”
In his own post on X, Vice President JD Vance offered a prayer to Kirk alongside a photo of the two men together along with Donald Trump Jr. and political aide Andy Surabian, saying, “Dear God, protect Charlie in his darkest hour.”
Democratic and Republican lawmakers flocked to social media to wish Kirk well.
“Pls join me in praying for Charlie Kirk,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, (R-Iowa), said in a post on X.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene,(R-Ga.), wrote in her own post that, “Charlie Kirk has been shot! Pray for him!”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom fiercely slammed the incident in his own post, writing “The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
