Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point's visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)

OREM, Utah — Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was assassinated at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday afternoon.

The Utah Department of Public Safety said it was believed to be a targeted attack against Kirk, who was struck by a single gunshot and died at Timpanogos Hospital.

“This is a dark day for our state; it’s a tragic day for our nation,” Gov. Spencer Cox said. “I want to be very clear that this is a political assassination.”

Cox confirmed during a press briefing a person of interest was in custody, and FBI Director Kash Patel said the subject of the shooting was in custody.

According to the Associated Press, two people of interest had been detained and released, and authorities were still seeking a new person of interest late Wednesday.

A university report said a “single shot rang out,” in the quad near UVU’s food court at 12:20 p.m. as Kirk began speaking at a planned rally that was part of his “The American Comeback Tour.”

Thousands of students were in attendance at the event and could be seen fleeing the scene on video that was posted moments after the shooting.

Law enforcement agencies and first responders were on scene for the majority of the day and into the early evening.

An eyewitness recounted what he saw to the Daily Herald.

“I was standing more towards the back, so I couldn’t really see a ton, but I did see the shot. I did see Charlie actually get shot,” Braden Jensen said. “At first I really didn’t know what to think, but then all of the sudden I saw blood come out and I knew it was real; and then literally, one second later, everybody hit the ground.”

Another man, Henry Dells, said he was the first to ask Kirk a question during the event and recalled the chaos that ensued once gunshots erupted.

“Everyone just jumped down,” he said. “We were just laying there for a while, until we all started getting up and started to flee.”

Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said the suspected gunman was dressed in dark clothing and that the shot was believed to be taken from a distance on a rooftop.

Officials said a man named George Zinn was arrested after the shooting, but he was later released after authorities realized he was not a match to the shooter’s description.

Captain Jeffrey Long of the UVU Police Department said Kirk has a security team that travels with him and that the school coordinated with them prior to the event.

Long said it was an open venue with six officers working the event and over 3,000 people in attendance.

“We’re devastated,” Long said. “We’re a small police department. We have a very large campus. We have over 40,000 students, and we know our students, we love our visitors and we’re devastated by what happened today. This is a police chief’s nightmare.

“You try to get your bases covered, and unfortunately, today, we didn’t; and because of that, we had this tragic incident.”

Utah Valley University officials said classes, events and campus operations are canceled until Monday.

Cox had strong words for the person responsible for the act and reminded reporters that Utah still has the death penalty.

“I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this: We will find you, we will try you and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law,” he said.

Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said his office is working closely with local, state and federal law enforcement partners as they investigate the shooting.

“Once the investigation is complete, we will carefully review the evidence and decide on the appropriate charges,” Gray said.

According to his Turning Point USA bio, Kirk “is the Founder and President of Turning Point USA, a national student movement dedicated to identifying, organizing, and empowering young people to promote the principles of free markets and limited government.”

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