Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative activist and close ally of Donald Trump, has died after being shot during a college event at Utah Valley University. He was co‑founder and chief executive of Turning Point USA, and the incident occurred while he was taking part in a debate organised by his non‑profit organisation.

Video footage circulating online shows Kirk speaking beneath a white tent displaying the slogans The American Comeback and Prove Me Wrong. A single shot was heard, and witnesses can be heard reacting with gasps as he appears to reach to his neck. The footage is reported to have been filmed in the Sorensen Centre courtyard on the UVU campus. A person detained on campus was not believed to be the shooter, according to a person familiar with the investigation, and it was not yet clear whether authorities were continuing to search the campus.

The event at UVU drew mixed opinions on campus, with an online petition calling for the university to bar Kirk from appearing gathering nearly 1,000 signatures. UVU had issued a statement last week emphasising First Amendment rights and the university’s commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry and constructive dialogue. Kirk had previously posted on X about controversy surrounding his visits to Utah colleges, asking what was going on in Utah.