An unidentified individual shot and killed Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Wednesday while he was debating college students on gun violence as part of his nationwide “The American Comeback Tour.” He was 31.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation has not yet identified the shooter as of publication, according to a post from FBI Director Kash Patel on X at 4:59 p.m. on Wednesday. UVU administrators announced that the campus will be closed and classes will be canceled until Monday.

“We are heartbroken to learn of Charlie’s passing today,” wrote members of USC’s chapter of Turning Point USA in an Instagram post shortly after the shooting. “Several of our members were fortunate enough to meet Charlie when we hosted him at USC last semester and were able to engage with him in bridging the political divide through respectful debate.”

The shooting is the latest in two growing trends: political violence and threats to safety on college campuses. Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 as a nonprofit aimed at promoting conservative values at high schools and colleges. He has since garnered popularity touring universities to debate college students on topics such as gun violence, abortion, and diversity, equity and inclusion. Clips of his debates often circulate widely on social media. 

Turning Point’s website said it has a presence on more than 3,500 high school and college campuses. Kirk worked closely with President Donald Trump, and his efforts with Turning Point likely played a major role in Trump’s rise in popularity among Generation Z during the 2024 presidential election. 

Trump expressed grief at the loss of Kirk, blaming the “radical left” for statements that incited the shooting Wednesday evening in a video posted to Truth Social. 

“Charlie was the best of America, and the monster who attacked him was attacking our whole country,” Trump said in the video. “An assassin tried to silence him with a bullet, but he failed, because together we will ensure that his voice, his message and his legacy will live on for countless generations to come.” 

Diego Andrades, assistant director of the Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences’ Center for the Political Future, said he hopes this is an isolated incident and that campuses across the country will put new security measures in place to prevent similar events from happening. 

“I’m worried about where we go from here,” Andrades said. “It’s really concerning that this happened on a campus of all places. This is supposed to be where students engage, where they disagree and where they learn from that disagreement.”

Kirk’s visit to USC in March as part of his national tour brought hundreds of students and members of the wider community to Hahn Plaza both in support and condemnation. Audience members came up to a microphone one by one to debate topics such as white privilege, affirmative action and abortion. Department of Public Safety officers detained two protesters at the event. 

“We welcomed Charlie Kirk to our campus last spring, and his murder serves as a tragic reminder that violence has no place on any university campus,” interim President Beong-Soo Kim wrote in a statement to the Daily Trojan. “USC remains steadfast in its commitment to open, civil, and peaceful dialogue across differences.”

Turning Point’s connection to campus goes back further: In 2018, USC was one of several college campuses at which Turning Point reportedly guided and funded student government candidates as part of the Campus Victory Project, an effort to shift the political leanings of college campuses rightward through student leaders. 

Wednesday’s shooting adds to a rise in violence against high-profile political figures: last June, a shooter grazed Trump’s ear in an assassination attempt; in April, an individual set fire to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s home; and in June, an individual shot two Minnesota state lawmakers and their spouses, killing one of the couples. 

Tension at college campuses is also growing due to an uptick in false mass shootings and bomb threats over the past two weeks, including at Villanova University and the University of Texas at San Antonio. Leavey Library and Doheny Memorial Library experienced a bomb threat Sunday afternoon. 

Andrades said a USC department connected to DPS handles threat assessment for events involving high-profile speakers. The department’s protocol involves a formula to identify an event’s risk level, including a permit application process. One of the questions in the application asks if the applicant is inviting a political figure. 

Patrick Done, president of Trojan Democrats and a junior majoring in political science, said even if individuals disagreed with Kirk’s political views, everyone should condemn the shooting.

“Seeing the image of a national political figure being shot and being killed is horrific,” Done said. “If we just shove all of our political disagreements deep inside of us and don’t actually have the tough conversations, then this kind of violence will continue in our society.”

In a statement posted to the White House’s website, Trump ordered United States flags to fly at half-staff at the White House as well as all public buildings, military posts and naval stations until Sunday evening to honor Kirk. He is survived by his wife and two children.

Brandon Lamberty contributed to this report.

Correction: A previous version of this article credited a photo to Henry Kofman. The article was updated Sept. 11 at 11:07 p.m. to reflect that Srikar Kolluru took the photo. The Daily Trojan regrets this error.