>Charlie Kirk, Turning Point USA founder, dead at 31 after Utah campus shooting
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<Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and founder of Turning Point USA, is dead after being shot during a campus event at Utah Valley University Wednesday.
<President Donald Trump confirmed Kirk's death in a post on Truth Social.
<"The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. 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 wrote. "Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!"
<Kirk died after he was taken to a hospital in critical condition after being shot Wednesday at a Utah event, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press.
<Video posted from the event appeared to show Kirk being shot as he spoke to the crowd from under a white pop-up tent. After the shot, the crowd dispersed, with onlookers shouting, "Run, run, run!"
<Treanor said the shooting happened at about 12:20 p.m.
>Trump and Leaders Across Political Spectrum React to Charlie Kirk Shooting
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<The shooting of Charlie Kirk on Wednesday at Utah Valley University prompted an outpouring of reaction from across the political spectrum, with some calling for prayers and others immediately casting blame.
<President Trump, who considers Mr. Kirk a close ally, wrote on his Truth Social platform, “We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!”
<Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director and a former right-wing podcast host, wrote on X that the F.B.I. was “closely monitoring” the situation.
<“Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected,” he wrote. “Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation.”
<Others immediately focused on what larger political issues were to blame for the shooting. Elon Musk declared on X that “The Left is the party of murder.”
<Harrison Smith, an InfoWars host, blamed the “fostering of extremism, the encouraging of the most radical and violent elements of the Democratic Party, constantly telling this swath of mentally ill people that they’re under attack, that fascism is coming, that they have to stand up and fight and arm yourselves — and this is almost the inevitable outcome.”
<Though a motive for the attack was not immediately known, several politicians denounced political violence, including some previous victims.
<Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, who was a victim of a politically motivated arson attack at the governor’s mansion earlier this year, condemned the attack in a statement. “We must speak with moral clarity,” he said. “The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying and this growing type of unconscionable violence cannot be allowed in our society.”
<Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman and a Democrat who nearly died in a 2011 assassination attempt, said on social media that she was “horrified” to hear that Mr. Kirk had been shot. “Democratic societies will always have political disagreements, but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence,” she said.
<Hakeem Jeffries, the House Democratic leader, wrote: “Political violence is NEVER acceptable. My thoughts and prayers are with Charlie Kirk and his family.”
>PERSON OF INTEREST TAKEN INTO CUSTODY AFTER FATAL SHOOTING
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<A person of interest connected to the Charlie Kirk shooting is in custody ... according officials in Utah.
<At the press conference in Utah moments ago, Utah Governor Spencer Cox clarified that they have a person of interest in custody.
<Shortly before the press conference, FBI Director Kash Patel posted to social media ... claiming a suspect was in custody.
<He shared to the site, "The subject for the horrific shooting today who took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody." However, it seems their wires must be crossed ... 'cause Governor Cox never referred to this person as a suspect.
<...
<Politicians on both sides of the political spectrum have come out to decry the shooting as well as political violence in general.