Panic on campus, two-day manhunt and ‘bungled’ FBI response: How Charlie Kirk assassination and suspect arrest unfolded
Charlie Kirk had just kicked off Turning Point USA’s fall tour, debating with college students at campuses across the country, when 20 minutes into the Utah event, the right-wing activist was struck in the neck by a single bullet.
Chaos erupted as panicked students fled the courtyard of the Utah Valley University campus as Kirk, with blood pouring from his neck, fell to the ground from his chair.
The FBI was on the scene within 16 minutes and a manhunt was launched.
Confusion set in after a university alert initially claimed the suspect was in custody, only for Utah officials to contradict the report soon after and clarify that the shooter was still at large.
President Donald Trump announced Kirk’s death two hours after the MAGA influencer was shot.
Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old suspected of assassinating the 31-year-old, was arrested two days later after law enforcement was tipped off by his own family.
Here, The Independent looks at key moments surrounding the shooting. All times are local.
11:52 a.m. The suspected shooter arrives on campus, according to Beau Mason, the commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, who spoke at a Wednesday news conference following Kirk’s death.
Noon: Kirk begins his event in the Fountain Courtyard of Utah Valley University’s Orem Campus, to a crowd of around 3,000 students.
12:20 p.m. Mathematics student Hunter Kozak, 29, is invited to ask Kirk a question during the debate portion of the event.
“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” Kozak asks.
“Too many,” Kirk responds to applause from the crowd.
Kozak informs Kirk that the total was five and continues: “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”
“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk replies.
