Police have launched an urgent manhunt for the gunman who shot conservative influencer Charlie Kirk at his event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
Kirk was shot in the neck as he began a Q&A with students at the event, with footage sweeping social media showing the commentator falling limp as he was struck.
As chaos took over the scene, an elderly man was seen being hauled away by cops while furious witnesses screamed and hurled abuse at him.
‘How dare you, you f***ing monster!’ one yelled as the man was walked away with his trousers down. The arrest came at the same time that officials said a suspect had been taken into custody, however university spokesperson Scott Trotter later said that the man in the video was not believed to be the shooter.
Reports suggest that the man was heard remarking on the shooting as he was arrested, and separate footage of the moment showed the elderly man repeatedly urging the crowd to ‘shoot him.’
The gunman remains at large, Trotter said, and UVU locked down its campus as bedlam took over the scene. A large law enforcement presence could be seen descending on the Utah school.
UVU officials said the shot was fired from the top of the Losee Center, about 200 feet away from where Kirk was sitting. Students at UVU were offered police escorts as the manhunt for the gunman continued.
Hours after the horrific shooting, President Trump confirmed that Kirk had died, saying he was ‘loved and admired’ in the political world.
‘Melania and my sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika and family, Charlie we love you,’ he wrote.
Furious witnesses to the shooting of Charlie Kirk screamed and hurled abuse at the suspect as he was dragged away by police. Officials later said that the man was not the shooter
‘How dare you, you f***ing monster!’ one witness yelled as the man, who has not been identified, was walked away with his trousers down
The arrest came at the same time that officials said a suspect had been taken into custody, however university spokesperson Scott Trotter later said that the man in the video was not believed to be the shooter
Officials have launched an urgent manhunt for the shooter as they remain at large
With the manhunt ongoing, Mayor David Young of the north-central Utah city of Orem urged locals to report anything suspicious as they search for the gunman.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox said that he had spoken with Trump soon after news emerged that Kirk was killed, saying that he was ‘heartbroken’ by the incident.
‘We are praying for Charlie’s wife, daughter, and son,’ Cox wrote on X, adding that ‘we will bring to justice the individual responsible for this tragedy.’
Witness Justin Hickens told NBC News that he saw Kirk shot in the neck, and then saw ‘a bunch of blood come out of Charlie.’
‘I saw his body kind of kick back and go limp, and everybody dropped to the ground,’ he said. ‘I kind of turned around and all of a sudden I saw officers walking with this very elderly gentleman with white hair.
‘They had him arrested, they had him on his knees and he was screaming about his rights and all that stuff. They cuffed him and put him away.’
Chaotic scenes took over the UVU campus
New York Post reporter Diana Nerozzi said she spoke to Trump following the shooting, and the president told her Kirk ‘is not doing well… it looks very bad.’
‘Not good. He was a very, very good friend of mine and he was a tremendous person.’
‘Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,’ Vice President JD Vance added on X.
The horror shooting unfolded Wednesday afternoon at the UVU campus in Orem.
Charlie Kirk was seen going limp as he was shot in the neck at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday afternoon
The horror shooting unfolded Wednesday afternoon at the UVU campus in Orem as Kirk hosted his Turning Point USA event
A large law enforcement presence could be seen descending on the Utah school
Footage from the scene showed event goers screaming as shots rang out, with clips circulating social media appearing to show Kirk was shot in the neck.
Sophie Anderson, 45, who was standing 100 feet from the stage when the shooting happened, told the Daily Mail that she almost got trampled as she ran off into the food court where she hit in a closet.
’The second it happened, I knew it was a gunshot,’ said Anderson, who was joined at the event by her boss Phil Lyman, a former Utah state representative who was handing out hats on stage with Kirk just five minutes earlier.
’He was shot in the neck and just fell over and he was just a fountain of blood,’ she said. ‘They carried him off. All these kids are just falling apart and bawling.’
President Trump led tributes to Kirk after Kirk was shot dead at the event
Kirk, 31, was married and had two children
Kirk published a post on X just minutes before reports of the shooting emerged.
‘WE. ARE. SO. BACK,’ Kirk wrote at 2.23pm EST. ‘Utah Valley University is FIRED UP and READY for the first stop back on the American Comeback Tour.’
Utah Valley University evacuated the campus after the shooting and canceled classes until further notice.
The event was the first in Kirk’s ‘Great American Comeback Tour.’
A petition signed by 7,000 people called for him to be banned from campus.
