WASHINGTON — Sen. Rick Scott talked to reporters on Capitol Hill after Charlie Kirk was shot in the neck while speaking on Wednesday at Utah Valley University in Orem.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced on X that a “subject for the horrific shooting” was in custody.
“Charlie is a very good friend of mine. It scares you to death for him and his family,” Scott said before Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced the shooting was a “political assassination.”
President Donald Trump announced U.S. flags will be lowered to half-staff until Sunday evening after Kirk, a married father of two and the co-founder of Turning Point USA, a Phoenix-based organization of young conservatives, died at 31.
The president, who was injured after an assassination attempt at a campaign event last year, described Kirk as “a truly great” American patriot.
“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,” Trump wrote. “Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
Donald Trump Jr. released a long letter on X describing Kirk as “a little brother,” a “true inspiration,” and a man whose faith in God was unshakable.
“There is no question that Charlie’s work and his voice helped my father win the presidency,” the president’s son wrote. “He changed the direction of this nation.”
U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., who had Kirk’s endorsement in 2018 after she worked as his national Hispanic outreach director, also talked to reporters on Capitol Hill. She appeared to be in disbelief after learning about his death and said, “I hope that that’s wrong.” She later wrote on X, “Sometimes there are no words to describe the barrage of emotions that come with this news, but if there is one word, it would be heartbroken.”
Related reports
- Conservative activist Charlie Kirk fatally shot in act of ‘political assassination’ at Utah college
- Politicians who have experienced violence directly react to Charlie Kirk shooting
- Utah college where Charlie Kirk was killed is a lesser-known school but the state’s largest
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