"Do You Know...": The Last Question Charlie Kirk Took Before Killer Shot

Question: Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?

Charlie Kirk: Counting or not counting gang violence?

Then a single shot rang through. Blood poured through a wound in Kirk's neck, his head fell back, and he collapsed to his left.

A right-wing activist and a close ally of President Donald Trump, 31-year-old Charlie Kirk was on the Utah Valley University campus for an event when he was shot dead. Wearing a white t-shirt that had "Freedom" written on it, he was sitting in a tent and taking questions from the audience when the killer shot was fired.

Former Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, who was at the event, told Fox News that Kirk was taking a question about "transgender shooters, mass shooters, and in the midst of that, the shot rang out".

"As soon as that shot went out, he fell back. Everybody hit the deck... a lot of people started screaming, and then everybody started running," he said.

Local authorities have said the shot was possibly fired from a rooftop, and a manhunt has been launched to arrest the killer.

FBI director Kash Patel said a subject, who had been taken into custody, has been released after interrogation. "Our investigation continues, and we will continue to release information in the interest of transparency," he said.

Kirk was the co-founder of Turning Point USA, a nonprofit that advocates for conservative politics on high school, college, and university campuses.

US President Trump described Kirk as "great, and even legendary". "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. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you," he said.

The US President blamed rhetoric from the "radical left" to Kirk's killing. "This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today," he said in a video. "My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity, and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it," the US president said.

The Democrats condemned the assassination. Kamala Harris said she was "deeply disturbed" by the incident. "Let me be clear: Political violence has no place in America. I condemn this act, and we all must work together to ensure this does not lead to more violence," she said.

Former President Joe Biden echoed Harris and said such violence "must end now". "Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirk's family and loved ones," he said.