Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker thanked Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk for his “strong witness for Christ,” in response to the news that Kirk had died after being shot during an event at Utah Valley University.
“Thank you for your strong witness for Christ @charliekirk11,” Butker wrote in a post on X. “Thank you for pursuing truth and leading your family as a husband and father. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.”
Deseret News reported that after Kirk was shot in his neck during a Q&A with students from the university, SWAT teams and “other law enforcement agencies evacuated and locked down” the university to search for the shooter:
After the shooting, SWAT teams, ATF Police and other law enforcement agencies evacuated and locked down the UVU campus and conducted a manhunt for the shooter.
Deseret News reporters Emma Pitts and Eva Terry were covering Kirk’s UVU rally. About 20 minutes after Kirk appeared at noon, he engaged in a Q&A with students.
The reporters then heard a gunshot from behind them, and it appeared Kirk was struck in the neck during a Q&A with students.
In response to Kirk’s death, President Donald Trump ordered all American flags to be flown at half-mast until 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, in honor of Kirk, who he described as a “truly Great American Patriot.”
Several members of the Trump administration, including Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. responded to the news of Kirk’s death and expressed that they were “heartbroken and outraged.”
“Heartbroken and outraged by the assassination of Charlie Kirk,” Rubio wrote in a post on X. “He was an incredible husband and father and a great American. May he rest in eternal peace with our Lord.”
“Once again, a bullet has silenced the most eloquent truth teller of an era,” Kennedy wrote in a post on X. “My dear friend Charlie Kirk was our country’s relentless and courageous crusader for free speech. We pray for Erika and the children. Charlie is already in paradise with the angels. We ask his prayers for our country.”
“Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord,” Vance wrote in a post on X.
Breitbart News’s AWR Hawkins reported that Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) expressed that Kirk “believed in the power of free speech and debate, to shape ideas and to persuade people.” Cox also noted that the state “still has the death penalty.”
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the same day that a suspect was in custody, but later revealed the person was released after questioning:
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