Who Was Charlie Kirk? What to Know About the Right-Wing Activist Fatally Shot While Speaking on a College Campus

Right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while holding one of his signature campus debates.

The conservative commentator began his career after being influenced by the controversial Tea Party movement of the 2000s. In 2012, he founded the organization Turning Point USA, which launched a nationwide American Comeback Tour that saw Kirk travel to different college campuses, inviting critics to "prove me wrong" on various political subjects.

On Sept. 10, the Turning Point USA founder was shot during a campus event at Utah Valley University and died, according to President Donald Trump.

A spokesperson for Utah Valley University told PEOPLE that the shots were fired from a building "about 200 yards from the speaker," and that campus police have a suspect in custody.

From his career to his family, here's everything to know about Charlie Kirk.

Kirk was a right-wing political commentator

Kirk was the founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, an organization whose mission is "to identify, educate, train, and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government," per its website.

Over the years, he had been a prominent voice in the right-wing movement and became a close ally of President Trump, even giving a speech at his inauguration in January 2025.

He was a podcast host and author

Kirk began his podcast, The Charlie Kirk Show, in 2019. He released over 700 episodes, many of which range from 30 to 60 minutes long.

He also published several politics-related books.

He married his wife, Erika, in 2021

Kirk married former Miss Arizona USA Erika Kirk in May 2021.

Erika is the founder and designer of clothing brand PROCLAIM x BIBLEin365, per the brand's bio.

She attended several public events with Kirk, including Trump's January 2025 inauguration and Turning Point USA's inaugural ball.

He was a father of two

Kirk and his wife shared two children. Per Instagram, they welcomed their first child together — a daughter — in August 2022. Their son followed in May 2024.

Kirk had been vocal about his beliefs on marriage and children. "You should get married as young as possible and have as many kids as possible. Period. Reject the siren song of modernity," he said during a January 2023 speech.

More recently, he wrote on social media in May 2024 that getting married and having children was "good and godly" but also a "simple act of defiance against the oligarchs."

He was shot while speaking on a college campus in September 2025

On Sept. 10, Kirk was shot during a campus event at Utah Valley University. He was leading his signature "Prove Me Wrong" table as part of his American Comeback Campus Tour when the shots were fired.

Videos circulating on social media from the event appear to show Kirk seemingly being struck in the side of the head or neck while addressing the crowd from beneath a white pop-up tent.

The crowd dispersed in panic after the shot rang out, with onlookers shouting, "Run, run, run!"

President Trump announced Kirk's death on Truth Social, writing, "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."