US conservative activist Charlie Kirk shot dead at college event

Influential conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot dead during an event at a Utah college on Wednesday, US authorities said.

Kirk, a prominent Trump supporter, was shot in the neck during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University (UVU) on Wednesday at around 12:20 pm local time (1820 GMT). He later died of his injuries.

“The shooting is believed to be a targeted attack,” the Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS) said in a statement published later on Wednesday. “The shooter is believed to have fired from the roof of a building down to the location of the public event in the student courtyard.”

Two suspects were taken into custody following the shooting and later released, the DPS said. One of the suspects was charged with obstruction of justice.

“There are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals,” the Utah DPS continued. “There is an ongoing investigation and manhunt for the shooter.”

Earlier, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said in a press conference that the shooting was a “political assassination.”

DPS Commissioner Beau Mason meanwhile said that “the only information we have on the suspect, the possible shooter, is taken from closed-circuit TV here on campus… we are analyzing it, but it is security camera footage so you can guess what the quality of that is.”

Mason said the suspect was “dressed in all dark clothing, we do not have a much better description other than that.”

The DPS said that six UVU Police Department officers were working the event, as well as Kirk’s security detail. The outdoor event was attended by about 3,000 people.

Video from the event showed Kirk sitting on an outdoor stage speaking to a large crowd at the university in Orem, about 50 kilometres south of Salt Lake City, when a shot is fired. Kirk recoiled as blood gushed from his neck, and the audience fled in panic.

In one video, a member of the audience asks Kirk about mass shootings in the US just seconds before the gunshot: “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America in the last 10 years?”

Trump points to radical left rhetoric after Kirk’s death

US President Donald Trump pointed the finger at the rhetoric coming from the “radical left” following Kirk’s killing.

“It is long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible,” Trump said in a video address.

“For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals,” the president said.

“This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.”

Trump went on to list some high-profile instances of violence, including an assassination attempt on his own life during his presidential campaign in which he was slightly injured at a rally in Pennsylvania, the killing of a health executive in New York last year and the 2017 shooting of House majority leader Steve Scalise as he blamed “radical left political violence.”

He did not mention political violence against Democratic politicians, such as the fatal shooting of Democratic state representative Melissa Hortman and her husband in June or the 2011 Tucson shooting in which six people were killed and Gabby Giffords, a Democrat representing Arizona, was seriously hurt.

Kirk, 31, did not hold elected office but was a powerful force in grassroots conservative politics, leading youth organization Turning Point USA, hosting a popular podcast and attracting millions of followers on social media.

He spoke at Trump campaign rallies in last year’s election and addressed the Republican National Convention.

Earlier on Wednesday, Trump confirmed that Kirk died of his injuries. He later spoke in his video address of “a dark moment for America,” highlighting Kirk’s travels around the US during which he engaged “with everyone interested in good faith debate.”

Political violence is a growing concern in the deeply polarized country, affecting both Republicans and Democrats at all levels of government.

Gun violence is a persistent issue in the US, including on school and university campuses.

Handguns and larger firearms are widely available, and mass shootings frequently spark debate over stricter gun laws. Efforts at reform have repeatedly stalled due to opposition from Republicans and the influential gun lobby.