The assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk shocked elected leaders on the right and left Wednesday and set off a new wave of warnings about heated discourse and violence fraying America from coast to coast.
Kirk, 31, a top ally and surrogate for President Trump and Vice President Vance who served as an informal adviser, was shot in the neck during an outdoor campus debate event at Utah Valley University and was pronounced dead soon after at a nearby hospital.
A manhunt is underway for the shooter, who authorities believe fired on Kirk from a nearby building up to 200 yards away. One video widely circulating on social media showed an individual apparently lying on a roof before the shooting; in another video, an individual on a roof appears to run away after the shooting. Authorities have not yet corroborated the videos.
Officials apprehended two persons of interest on Wednesday before releasing both. The FBI is continuing its search for the perpetrator and posted a request for tips. Follow The Hill's live coverage today here.
Kirk's fatal wounding was captured on video posted to social media and his death was announced by the president, who ordered flags lowered to half-staff through Sunday. Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA, the campus-focused organization that Trump credits with influencing younger voters to back him in last year's election, and he was speaking Wednesday at a kickoff event for a multi-campus tour.
"He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us," Trump wrote on Truth Social, announcing Kirk's death.
Trump, who experienced two attempted assassinations last year while running for president, praised Kirk as an "unbelievable patriot" in a statement read on air by Fox News' Bret Baier.
"All of this violence cannot happen," the president said.
During a four-minute video address from the Oval Office on Wednesday night, Trump described "a dark moment for America" and likened America's political extremism to terrorism.
"For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals," the president said. "This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today."
Condolences for Kirk, a married father of two young children, flooded social media from across the political spectrum. Among those offering condolences: Former President Obama; former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-Ariz.) and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), both survivors of near-fatal shootings; and David Hogg, the 25-year-old gun control activist and former Democratic National Committee vice chair who entered politics after a 2018 shooting at a Florida high school.
Former President Biden, writing on social media, said there's "no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now."
▪ The Hill: Scalise says Kirk shooting "brings back emotions."
▪ The Associated Press: Politicians who have experienced violence directly reacted to Kirk's killing.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) held a moment of silence in the Capitol while urging "every political figure … who has a platform" to say "this is not who we are."
"We can settle disagreements and disputes in a civil manner, and political violence must be called out, and it has to stop," Johnson said.
That moment of silence itself soon erupted into House strife, with shouting on the floor.
Johnson told CNN late Wednesday that the events of the day chilled the environment on Capitol Hill, including renewed calls for heightened security, especially in lawmakers' home districts.
The Speaker previously had warned of rising threats against members of Congress, noting Capitol Police tracked nearly 14,000 assessments of threatening and concerning behavior in 2025, up from 9,000 last year. Lawmakers have worked this year on ideas for tighter security.
The Hill's Niall Stanage writes that the shocking killing of Kirk is heightening fears over the nation's path.
In Utah, state Rep. Angela Romero (D), the Utah House minority leader, told The Washington Post that gun violence is finding victims across party lines.
"This could happen to anyone," said Romero, who represents Salt Lake City. She cited the June shootings in which a gunman targeted Democratic lawmakers in the Minneapolis area. "I had the same concern when my colleague was murdered in Minnesota in her own home. This is not just targeting one person's ideology."
"Even though I don't agree with his political ideology," she added, "it's horrific what happened to him."
▪ The New Yorker, 2024: Should political violence be addressed like a threat to public health?
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