Charlie Kirk assassination live updates: Police searching door-to-door after two ‘subjects’ released
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Key Events
‘No justification for political violence’: British PM
British Prime Minister sir Keir Starmer has issued a statement on the death of Charlie Kirk, calling the tragedy “heartbreaking”.
“My thoughts this evening are with the loved ones of Charlie Kirk,” Starmer posted on X.
“It is heartbreaking that a young family has been robbed of a father and a husband.
“We must all be free to debate openly and freely without fear - there can be no justification for political violence.”
JD Vance’s moving tribute to Kirk
US Vice President JD Vance has issued a lenthy tribute to Charlie Kirk, detailing how the two went from strangers to close friends.
“A while ago, probably in 2017, I appeared on Tucker Carlson’s Fox show to talk about God knows what. Afterwards a name I barely knew sent me a DM on twitter and told me I did a great job. It was Charlie Kirk, and that moment of kindness began a friendship that lasted until today,” he wrote.
“Charlie was fascinated by ideas and always willing to learn and change his mind. Like me, he was skeptical of Donald Trump in 2016. Like me, he came to see President Trump as the only figure capable of moving American politics away from the globalism that had dominated for our entire lives.
“Someone else pointed out that Charlie died doing what he loved: discussing ideas. He would go into these hostile crowds and answer their questions. If it was a friendly crowd, and a progressive asked a question to jeers from the audience, he’d encourage his fans to calm down and let everyone speak. He exemplified a foundational virtue of our Republic: the willingness to speak openly and debate ideas.”
Mr Vance said he prayed for Kirk after learning that he had been shot.
“God didn’t answer those prayers, and that’s OK. He had other plans. And now that Charlie is in heaven, I’ll ask him to talk to big man directly on behalf of his family, his friends, and the country he loved so dearly,” he wrote.
“You ran a good race, my friend. We’ve got it from here.”
Kirk’s wife trolled online following his murder
Charlie Kirk’s wife Erika Kirk has been heartlessly trolled on social media following the political assassination of her husband at the Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
Mrs Kirk, who is also known as Erika Frantzve, is a model and ministry leader, as well as a former basketball player for Regis University, who was crowned Miss Arizona in 2012.
She hasn’t publicly spoken out about the murder, but was targeted by online by trolls who celebrated the death of her husband.
“The world is a better place without your husband in it,” one person wrote.
“LOL,” another wrote, later adding: “I’m gown enough to know this woman’s husband rotted an entire generation of young men into thinking fascism holds a fruitful future for them.”
Melania Trump calls for ‘compassionate awareness’
First Lady Melania Trump has issued a statement after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, saying his children will now only know his story and miss out on sharing memories.
“Charlie’s children will be raised with stories instead of memories, photographs instead of laughter, and silence where their father’s voice should have echoed,” she wrote on X.
“Charlie Kirk’s life should serve as a symbolic reminder that compassionate awareness elevates family, love, and country.”
FBI issue urgent plea as manhunt intensifies
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued an urgent plea for photos or videos from Charlie Kirk’s event in Utah as they desperately seek information.
The request came after a second suspect was released by officials.
“Anyone with information, photos, and video from the incident can help the FBI identify more answers,” the FBI said in a statement.
Florida’s Governor demands death penalty
Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has told Fox News he is “very angry” about the assassination of MAGA activist Charlie Kirk and said the death penalty is needed.
“Obviously, they’ve gotta catch this guy,” he told Fox News.
“We need a very quick death penalty prosecution.
“I don’t want to see this take forever and a day.
“We need justice for this,” he said.
Utah, where the assassination took place, is one of the 27 US states that enforce the death penalty.
Two suspects released after interrogation
Authorities in the US have now released a second suspect as the search for the assassin who killed Charlie Kirk intensifies.
A man was originally taken into custody at the Utah event, with authorities quickly releasing him. In a press conference, they confirmed the man did not fit the description of the shooter.
Later, FBI Director Kash Patel announced that a second person was in custody.
However, this person has also been released.
Police have been seen going door to door in the areas surrounding the Utah university as they desperately hunt for a killer.
AARON PATRICK: Many saw Charlie Kirk as a future president
Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old American political activist assassinated in Utah today, led a conservative movement so popular among young voters that some anticipated he might become America’s first millennial president.
“I do think one day, whether he intended for it or not, I think he would have made a great politician or even a president,” said Barclay McGain, a 25-year-old Australian who met Mr Kirk last December at a political conference in Phoenix. “He would have done it by uniting the nation.”
Well known among Republican-leaning fans, Mr Kirk played a significant role in Donald Trump’s election last year through his leadership of a young conservatives movement that rose to counter the Democratic Party’s shift to the left.
His influence was so great that his death was announced on social media by the President. “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Mr Trump said. “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 blames radical terrorism for assassination
US President Donald Trump has issued a damning address from the Oval Office after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, saying the radical left is responsible for the terrorism seen in the United States.
Kirk, 31, was a close ally of Mr Trump, playing an instrumental role in garnering support with younger Americans.
“I am filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah,” Mr Trump said in a video message.
“He fought for liberty, democracy, justice, and the American people.
“He’s a martyr for truth and freedom, and there’s never been anyone who was so respected by youth.”
Mr Trump accused radical left of comparing “wonderful Americans Like Charlie to nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers”, demanding a stop to political violence and dangerous rhetoric.
“This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.”
Australian politicians have condemned political violence after the assassination of a conservative US commentator who was a key ally of President Donald Trump.
Leaders across the political spectrum in Australia sent their thoughts to Kirk’s family and said there should be no place for violence in democratic debate.
Acting Prime Minister Richard Marles labelled the killing an absolute tragedy.
“I was just looking at that footage there, which I hadn’t seen before, and it’s obviously very frightening,” he told Seven’s Sunrise.
Opposition Leader Sussan Ley said she stood in solidarity “with those who mourn” after “what appears to be a political assassination”.
Former prime minister Tony Abbott also mourned Mr Kirk and offered his prayers to the activist’s wife and children.
“ He championed the pursuit of open debate and intellectual freedom in places of education, and did so with great courage,” Mr Abbott said on social media.
