Just weeks into the fall semester, a crowd gathered around the canopy on a grassy college courtyard.
They were eager to hear what the speaker beneath it had to say. It was a typical university scene, with its promise of the exchange of ideas and debate, except in one way: its size.
This speaker was Charlie Kirk, one of the most influential voices in President Donald Trump‘s ‘Make America Great Again’ movement, and the event on Wednesday at Utah Valley University drew more than 3,000 people.
Backpack-toting students watched from surrounding buildings as Kirk, wearing a white T-shirt that said ‘Freedom,’ tossed red MAGA caps, Frisbee-style, to his fans.
He took his place beneath the canopy, the slogans ‘The American Comeback’ and ‘Prove Me Wrong’ emblazoned across it.
In the horrifying few minutes that followed a gun was fired, Kirk was rocked backwards in his seat, and pandemonium broke out.
An assassin had apparently chosen a roof top some 200 yards away which, in the opinion of retired FBI expert James Gagliano, gave him a quick escape route enabling him to be ‘miles and miles’ away within minutes.
This is how the influencer’s death unfolded in minute-by-minute detail.
12:00
The event is estimated to have begun shortly before midday. At around 11:50am, hundreds of students and supporters had crowded into the outdoor area, some holding phones aloft, others clutching Turning Point USA merchandise. As Kirk arrived, cheers rose.
As Kirk arrived, he was greeted by cheers from the crowd. He started taking questions at 12pm
As was typical for Kirk’s events, security was light. It was the first of a 15-stop tour. There were six university police officers assigned to the event, plus some private security. There were no metal detectors or bag checks.
He started speaking around 12pm. The crowd packed a terraced courtyard, and students, including some protesters, watched from nearby buildings or overlooks.
12:20
By 12:20pm, he was deep into a Q&A session, speaking about mass shootings in America, when the gunfire erupted.
‘Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?’ an audience member asked. Kirk responded: ‘Too many.’
Around 12:20pm, Kirk was deep into a Q&A, speaking about mass shootings in America, when the gunfire erupted
The questioner followed up: ‘Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?’ Kirk asked: ‘Counting or not counting gang violence?’ Kirk asked.
Those were his last words before the bullet struck him. The calm turned to horror – a sharp crack echoed across the campus, and Kirk slumped in his seat, struck in the neck by a single bullet fired from hundreds of yards away. A video showed an individual running on the roof of the Losee Centre, just 200 yards away from the stage
Seconds later, screams rang out as people scrambled for cover, scattering across the green lawns in blind panic.
12:25
By 12:25pm, Kirk had been carried from the scene by his security detail and emergency responders.
Videos that spread rapidly online show him collapsing backwards as chaos engulfed the stage.
Some students described seeing blood gushing from Kirk as his security and local officers rushed to the stage.
A stampede rife with terror and panic soon erupted. Some attendees darted to a nearby building and ran through a water fountain to escape. Others ducked and hid. Some dragged their friends and even strangers to safety.
Panic spread through the crowd as people scrambled for safety
People screamed as they ducked for safety, while some fell over while trying to escape
Armed police swamped the university to secure the area
Ryan Davies, a witness, said: ‘People definitely feared for their lives. I could see it in their eyes. I could hear it in their voices. People were crying. People were screaming.’
He was rushed to Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem, and within minutes, university officials locked down the campus and cancelled classes, placing the entire area on alert.
Police tape went up around the scene, and officers swept the rooftops with rifles raised. A spokeswoman from the university said the shot was fired from the Losee Centre building.
Federal agents from the FBI and ATF were on scene within the hour, combing through camera footage and interviewing witnesses.
Retired FBI expert James Gagliano told Fox and Friends that the assassin appears to have picked a rooftop from where he could make a quick escape.
‘If you come off that roof – and I’ve seen the drone footage of this – there’s an open-air parking lot behind that building,’ Gagliano said.
‘So this is a big concern because this person, within three to five minutes of that shot going off, that person could have been in a vehicle on his way out and miles and miles away.’
‘Provo airport’s only about 45 minutes from there,’ he added, suggesting that the killer could have quickly escaped Utah, too.
Gagliano also rebuffed claims the shot was a professional hit. ‘That’s not a tough shot with a rifle, if this suspect had a scope,’ he said.
‘It’s a very easy shot.’
1:30
By 1:30pm, doctors at the hospital were still battling to save Kirk’s life – his condition was described as critical, and he was reported to be undergoing surgery.
Supporters had begun gathering outside, some praying aloud, others clutching phones for updates.
Confusion spread across the campus as rumours swirled about his fate.
2:40
At around 2:40 pm, his spokesperson confirmed that he had died. Soon afterwards, the confirmation came from other sources. Charlie Kirk, just 31 years old, had been pronounced dead in hospital.
4:00
At 4pm, officials confirmed that the shooting was a targeted attack against Kirk. Beau Mason, the commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety said: ‘There was one shot fired and one victim.’
It was late afternoon, just after 4:40pm, when US President Donald Trump paid tribute to him.
In a post on his social platform, he declared that Kirk was dead, calling him a legendary voice of conservatism. He wrote: ‘The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead.
‘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!’
5:00
By 5pm, Utah’s governor, Spencer Cox, had called the attack a political assassination.
State officials announced that a person of interest had been taken into custody, but later that night, the FBI’s director, Kash Patel, revealed that the individual had been released after interrogation.
By late afternoon, a second person of interest had been interviewed but released.
So far, no suspect has yet been publicly named, and the manhunt is continuing.
As night fell, vigils sprang up across Utah – candles flickered on the sidewalks outside the hospital.
A man who was taken into police custody was later released – the shooter remains at large
A vigil is held in memory of Charlie Kirk at Seattle, Washington
His assassination has become a stark reminder of America’s fragile democracy. In the last few years, several politically motivated violent incidents have occurred in the country.
Trump survived his own assassination attempt last year, while former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband was attacked at home in 2022.
For now, Investigators continue to search for the shooter, while federal and local authorities work together to piece together what happened.
Security measures at the university remain tight, and officials have urged anyone with information to come forward.
As the investigation unfolds, the world watches closely, seeking answers to how such a targeted attack could occur and who is responsible.
