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(NewsNation) — Charlie Kirk, a salient blimpish influencer and cardinal state to President Donald Trump, was assassinated Wednesday portion speaking astatine an lawsuit astatine Utah Valley University.
Police said Kirk, 31, was struck by a azygous firearm circular fired from a rooftop astir 200 yards away, sending thousands of attendees scrambling for cover.
Charlie Kirk asked astir shootings earlier shots fired
Emma Pitts, a newsman for the Deseret News who was successful attendance to screen the event, spoke to NewsNation astir witnessing the shooting.
“It was a unspeakable irony that Kirk was asked astir wide shootings conscionable earlier I heard a gunshot from down maine astatine 12:20 p.m. The archetypal question was if Kirk knew however galore wide shooters were transgender. The pupil who asked the question was challenging Kirk, who picked up a microphone connected the table successful beforehand of him and said, 'Too many,'" Pitts recounted.
Pitts said that arsenic Kirk was astir to reply a 2nd question astir the fig of wide shootings successful the United States, “a slug appeared to onslaught him successful the neck.”
“I’ll ne'er get the representation retired of my head. It looked similar a fountain of humor came retired of his neck. His assemblage went limp and past his eyes closed,” she recalled.
A mathematics prof astatine UVU told NewsNation affiliate KTVX, “When I saw students moving disconnected from the field implicit the bridge, a batch of them were crying. It was traumatizing for everyone.”
University 'failed' to support Charlie Kirk: Witness
Pitts said the assemblage was “full of vigor for his appearance.” She noted that field information for Kirk’s lawsuit seemed lax and “nobody scanned our equipment, cipher scanned our bags, determination was nary information similar that.”
“Anyone could conscionable locomotion in. It was astir apt the worst spot connected campus, due to the fact that there’s truthful galore areas wherever anyone tin conscionable locomotion in,” another witness told KTVX. “I would accidental the information level. I would accidental UVU benignant of failed him successful a way,”
Pitts said she "didn’t consciousness determination was a precocious information presence, which amazed maine due to the fact that Kirk was controversial."
After passing done security, Pitts said she was seated 5 rows from Kirk onstage.
Charlie Kirk's decease announced by Trump
President Donald Trump announced Kirk’s death aboriginal that afternoon.
“The great, and adjacent legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No 1 understood oregon had the bosom of the younker successful the United States of America amended than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, particularly me, and now, helium is nary longer with us. Melania and my sympathies spell retired to his beauteous woman Erika, and family. Charlie, we emotion you!” Trump wrote connected societal media.
Search underway for Charlie Kirk’s killer
Law enforcement continued to search for Kirk’s shooter Thursday. Robert Bohls, peculiar cause successful complaint of the FBI successful Salt Lake City, said, “I tin archer you this was a targeted event" and that the shooter appeared to beryllium of assemblage age.
Additionally, authorities person recovered a firearm suspected to beryllium utilized successful the shooting, and person tracked the suspect’s way connected field to a adjacent extortion and the “shooting location.”
Two radical initially detained by constabulary were released Wednesday.
