Charlie Kirk, a conservative American activist and influential ally of United States President Donald Trump, has been shot dead at a university event in Utah in an apparent targeted assassination.

Trump announced the death of Kirk, the 31-year-old cofounder of activist youth group Turning Point USA, in a social media post on Wednesday.

“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.”

Trump said he had ordered flags across the US to be lowered to half-mast until Sunday in Kirk’s honour.

In a video address from the White House later on Wednesday, Trump blamed rhetoric from the “radical left” as a factor in Kirk’s murder.

“It is long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonising those with whom you disagree, day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible,” Trump said.

Utah authorities said Kirk was killed with a single shot in what they believe was a targeted attack.

Videos circulating online show Kirk addressing a large outdoor crowd at Utah Valley University, a public institution located about 63km (40 miles) from Salt Lake City, when a shot rings out.

Kirk is seen recoiling and raising his hand to his neck as he falls off his chair, sending the attendees running.

Jeb Jacobi, a volunteer for Turning Point USA who witnessed the shooting, described the attack as shocking.

“I was on the third row from the bottom. I saw Charlie collapse in a pool of blood, and he was dragged off and carried over to the car. It was shocking to see,” Jacobi told Al Jazeera.

“It was one of the most shocking things I’ve ever seen.”

“People were panicking, people were screaming, people were running in all different directions,” Jacobi added.

“It was awful. I started panicking. I called my family, I called my parents, I called my aunt, my sister. I talked to everyone.”

Utah Governor Spencer Cox called the shooting a “political assassination”.

“This is a dark day for our state. It is a tragic day for our nation,” Cox said at a news conference.

Cox condemned the apparent assassination as a threat to Americans’ right to discuss and debate ideas openly.

“Charlie Kirk was first and foremost a husband and dad to two young children,” Cox said.

“He was also very much politically involved, and that’s why he was here on campus. Charlie believed in the power of free speech and debate to shape ideas and to persuade people. Historically, our university campuses in this nation, and here in the state of Utah, have been the place where truth and ideas are formulated and debated.”

Democrats, including former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, joined the condemnation.

“There is no place in our country for this kind of violence,” Biden said.

“It must end now. Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirk’s family and loved ones.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom called Kirk’s assassination “disgusting, vile, and reprehensible”.

“In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form,” Newsom said on X.

Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, said authorities were searching for a suspect “dressed in all dark clothing” who may have opened fire from a roof.

“The only information we have on the suspect, the possible shooter, is taken from closed-circuit TV here on campus. We do have that. We’re analysing it. But it is security camera footage, so you can kind of guess what the quality of that is,” Mason said at a news conference.

FBI director Kash Patel said a person who had been detained earlier was released following an interrogation by law enforcement.

“Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency,” Patel said on X.

Political violence

Described in media profiles as a “rock star” among young conservatives, Kirk played a key role in driving support for Trump in the lead-up to his re-election in November.

His events at college campuses nationwide drew large crowds drawn to the spectacle of Kirk sparring with students with diametrically opposed political views.

The shooting is the latest act of political violence in the US following a spate of high-profile attacks, including last year’s attempted assassination of Trump and the murders of a Democratic state lawmaker and her husband in June.

Moments before he was shot, Kirk had been discussing gun violence with a member of the audience.

“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” the audience member asked.

“Too many,” Kirk replied, to which the questioner followed up: “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”

“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk said, after which a shot rang out.

Larissa Olson, 24, who attended the event, said there had been no security controlling who could attend.

“I hadn’t fully processed what happened until we were in the lockdown room, and my husband said he thought he saw Charlie Kirk and blood. It all happened so fast,” Olson told Al Jazeera.

“It wasn’t until we were leaving, somebody walked up to us and showed us a closer video of what had actually happened.”

“This was such a horrible experience, and violence is not the answer,” Olson said.

“I pray for his family, children and everybody else that had to witness such a tragedy.”

Controversy ahead of event

Kirk’s visit to the university had attracted controversy, with the event dividing opinions on campus.

An online petition calling on the university to block the event, billed as part of Kirk’s “The American Comeback Tour”, accused the conservative activist of standing in opposition to the “values of understanding, acceptance, and progress that many of us hold dear”.

The university said last week that it supported the right of student clubs and organisations to invite various speakers to campus as part of its commitment to “free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue”.

Founded in suburban Chicago in 2012 by Kirk and Tea Party activist William Montgomery, Turning Point USA rose to prominence with its events on college campuses advocating conservative positions on issues such as taxes and gun rights.

From humble beginnings, the group over time attracted an influential set of conservative financiers, including the late investment manager and megadonor Foster Friess.

After initially expressing support for Scott Walker and Ted Cruz for president in 2016, Kirk enthusiastically backed Trump after he secured the Republican nomination.

Once an advocate of traditional Republican positions on free trade and limited government, Kirk became an ardent defender of Trump’s nationalism-infused populism and campaigned vigorously on his behalf in 2020 and 2024.

In an interview with the Salt Lake City-based Deseret News published days before his death, Kirk expressed concern about political radicalism and said he viewed his mission as being to “stop a revolution”.

“This is where you have to try to point them towards ultimate purposes and towards getting back to the church, getting back to faith, getting married, having children,” Kirk said.

“That is the type of conservatism that I represent, and I’m trying to paint a picture of virtue of lifting people up, not just staying angry.” (Text, excluding headline: Al Jazeera)

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