Conservative activist Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot dead on Wednesday during an event he was hosting at Utah Valley University in Orem, just north of Provo.
Authorities said the shooter remained at large as of Wednesday night.
President Donald Trump was the first to publicly confirm Kirk’s death in a post on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Videos circulating online appeared to show Kirk, co-founder of the right-wing youth organisation ‘Turning Point USA’, recoiling after a shot rang out, with blood visible on his neck.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox described the killing as “a political assassination” during a press conference, while the FBI and the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a joint statement that the attack was targeted.
Two individuals initially taken into custody were later released after investigators determined they had no connection to the shooting.
The attack immediately drew nationwide reaction. Politicians across party lines offered condolences, though Trump blamed the “radical left” for Kirk’s death.
“For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals,” Trump said in a video address.
“This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.”
He urged Americans to confront the dangers of political demonisation, while singling out “radical-left political violence” as the cause of Kirk’s death.
No motive for the shooting has been announced.
Governor Cox reiterated his stance that the killing bore the hallmarks of a political attack, saying, “This was a political assassination, and it has no place in our state or our nation.”
Donald Trump Jr., a longtime ally of Kirk and a close family friend, expressed his grief in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“I don’t even know how to begin to put into words the loss I am feeling right now over the assassination of Charlie Kirk,” Trump Jr. wrote.
“Charlie wasn’t just a friend — he was like a little brother to me — and to millions of people around the world, he was a true inspiration.”
He added, “This loss is absolutely devastating — not only for Erika and the kids, but for our country. We’ve lost a leader, a fighter, and a man whose character and conviction were rare. To think that his life was cut short by a brutal, heinous, evil act is beyond comprehension. It is horrible and it is heartbreaking.”
Law enforcement officials said investigation remains ongoing as authorities continue to search for the suspect.
