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President Donald Trump has confirmed Charlie Kirk's demise on X.
Trump took to his Truth Social platform to pay tribute to the late conservative commentator, hours after he was shot at an event at Utah University. However, merely hours before he confirmed the news, the president took to the platform to urge all his followers to keep Kirk in their prayers:
"We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!" he penned.
Vice President JD Vance also echoed the sentiments:
“Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,” he penned on X.
President Trump gushes over Charlie Kirk days before his demise: Read more
Kirk sustained the lethal injury at the event he was hosting on campus in Orem. In the post announcing his demise at the age of 31, President Trump said:
“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” Trump wrote.
Before Kirk died, US House Representative Mike Kennedy of Utah's 3rd district took to X to issue a statement:
"I’m devastated to learn Charlie Kirk was shot during an event at UVU. We condemn this senseless act of violence. Praying for Charlie and all those affected. My teams and I are monitoring the situation for updates.”
The Mirror has reported that Utah Valley University police launched shelter-in-place protocols on campus shortly after the incident. Spokespersons for the school reportedly claimed that a suspect was taken into custody, though the New York Times has reported that the latter, a man, has since been cleared of all doubts.
Aubrey Laitsch, the public relations manager for Kirk's Turning Point USA, issued a brief statement on the matter ahead of Kirk's demise:
"We are confirming that he was shot and we are praying for Charlie."
FBI Director Kash Patel also took to X to acknowledge the incident:
"We are closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected. Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation," he wrote.
Kirk is most known for having backed Trump publicly in his first stint as president in 2016. He spun his Turning Point group into a focal point of the right-of-center universe, the Associated Press has reported.
Just last Wednesday, Trump gushed over his late confidant:
“He was a very, very good friend of mine and he was a tremendous person,” he told the New York Post.
Stay tuned to SoapCentral for more.
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