Charlie Kirk, an influential right-wing activist and a close ally of US President Donald Trump, was shot dead on Wednesday while speaking at an event at a university in Utah.
On Friday President Trump said a suspect was in custody, telling Fox News: “I think we’ve got him.”
Here is what we know.
What happened?
Kirk, 31, was speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem on 10 September, 2025 as part of his “American Comeback” tour.
He sat under a white gazebo to take questions from a crowd of about 3,000 in the university’s “quad”, an outdoor courtyard.
At about 12:20, he is asked by a member of the crowd: “Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?”
He replies: “Too many.”
The questioner then states there had been five in 10 years and asks Kirk how many mass shootings there had been in that time.
“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk replies.
Then a single shot is heard, which is believed to have been fired from the roof of the Losee Center, a building overlooking the quad.
Three photos show view from an office window out across a large crowd to flat-topped buildings in the background. Each photo highlights a figure on the rooftop with a white circle. The figure’s position moves slightly to the left across the rooftop each time
Kirk then slumps in his chair with a clearly visible wound to his neck. He is bleeding profusely as his staff get him off stage.
The crowds around the tent then begin to flee, and screams can be heard.
What do we know about the suspect?
Image shows a slim, white man wearing sunglasses, a dark baseball cap, and a dark sweater with a picture of an American flag on the front.
On Friday President Trump told Fox News that a suspect was in custody and was turned in by “someone very close to him”.
Trump says the “person” – presumably the person who recognised the suspect – was a “person of faith, a minister”, adding: “The father convinced the son.”
Trump says he may need to be corrected, but he’s talking “based on what I’m hearing”.
Asked to clarify, Trump says the father, “namely his father”, got involved, and said “we’ve got to go in”.
“They drove into the police headquarters, and he’s there now.”
The suspect was “28 or 29” years old, he said.
Authorities had not previously named a suspect or their alleged motive. But Utah’s public safety commissioner said the gunman appeared to be of “college age”, and had blended in well with other students.
Investigators released photos of a “person of interest” and appealed for public help identifying the man pictured, who was wearing sunglasses, Converse shoes and a “distinctive” long-sleeved black top featuring an American flag and an eagle.
At a press conference on Thursday night, Utah Governor Spencer Cox also released a video of what police believe is the suspect fleeing the scene.
A figure dressed in black is seen running across the roof of the building from where the shot was fired and jumping to the grass below, before walking towards a nearby road and a cluster of trees.
The FBI earlier said they found a high-powered firearm – an imported Mauser .30-06 bolt action rifle – wrapped in a towel in a wooded area.
Other videos, including two examined by BBC Verify, also appear to show a dark figure running across the roof of a building in the aftermath of the shooting.
Officials say a palm print and forearm imprints were also discovered, and that forensic evidence was being processed in federal and state laboratories.
“We are going to catch this person,” Governor Cox said on Thursday. “We’ve been working with our attorneys, getting everything that we need… ready so that we can pursue the death penalty in this case.”
Utah is one of 27 states in the US where the death penalty is legal.
Thousands of tips from members of the public have been pouring in, the largest number the FBI has received since the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, he added. More than 200 interviews have been conducted too.
Eyewitnesses at the university during the shooting have also been describing what they saw to reporters.
“I heard a loud shot, a loud bang and then I saw his body actually – in slow motion – kind of fall over,” one witness said.
“We all dropped to the ground, and I want to say we sat like that for about 30 to 45 seconds, and then everyone around us got up and started running,” said Emma Pitts, a reporter from Deseret News.
Who was Charlie Kirk?
Kirk was one of the most high-profile right-wing activists and media personalities in the US. He was a trusted ally of Trump, attended his inauguration and regularly visited the White House.
As an 18-year-old in 2012, he co-founded Turning Point USA (TPUSA), a student organisation that aims to spread conservative ideals at liberal-leaning US colleges.
He became known for holding open-air debates on campuses across the country, fielding quick questions in a signature “Prove Me Wrong” style.
His social media feed and daily podcast offer a snapshot of what he often debated – the issues ranged from gun rights and climate change, to faith and family values.
Kirk had many critics who saw him as a divisive figure that promoted controversial and, at times, conspiratorial beliefs such as the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump.
But he also had his fans. They credit him with playing a key role in convincing younger voters to turn out for Trump in last year’s election.
He was valued within the Trump administration for his keen understanding of the Maga movement.
Kirk’s murder is the latest in a string of high-profile attacks against political leaders in the US, including two attempted assassinations on Trump during his 2024 election campaign.
The president suffered an ear injury in an attempted assassination at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July.
BBC
