Kirk had spoken for about 20 minutes at Utah Valley University when shots were suddenly heard. A spokesperson for the university tells NBC that Kirk was hit by shots and was taken from the scene by security personnel.
The incident occurred at around 8:30 PM Swedish time on Wednesday. Just over two hours later, the American president confirms in a post on Truth Social that Charlie Kirk is dead.
"The fantastic, and even legendary Charlie Kirk, is dead", Trump writes, and sends his condolences to Kirk's family.
In another post, he orders that all American flags in the country be flown at half-mast until Sunday evening in honor of Kirk, "a truly great American patriot".
No one else is said to have been hit. One person is reported to have been arrested, but it is not about the suspected shooter.
"There is no suspect arrested, this is an ongoing investigation", says Ellen Treanor, spokesperson for the university, in a statement.
Heavyweights react
Shortly after the shooting, Trump called for prayer for Kirk via his platform Truth Social.
Several other political heavyweights reacted with dismay over the incident, including Vice President JD Vance, Defense Minister Pete Hegseth, Justice Minister Pam Bondi, Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson, Health Minister Robert F Kennedy and California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom.
Also, Sweden's Deputy Prime Minister Ebba Busch (KD) expressed horror over the incident.
"Terrible images from the event in Utah where the conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was shot, the extent of the damage unclear. I am horrified and dismayed. How did we end up here?", she writes on X.
The 31-year-old Kirk was a conservative political commentator, debater, and media personality who was close to President Donald Trump. He was one of the founders of the organization Turning Point USA and was at Utah Valley University as part of what is described as a lecture tour with a focus on conservative values.
Millions of followers online
Kirk has become an increasingly influential voice in the American debate and has 5.2 million followers on X and 7.3 million followers on Tiktok. He is particularly known for organizing large public debates like the one in Utah, where people in the audience are invited to debate various topics with Kirk.
The university where the appearance took place is Utah's largest with over 46,000 students and is located about six miles south of the state capital Salt Lake City.
