What was Charlie Kirk talking about when he was shot? Circumstances surrounding political commentator's deadly shooting explored

Charlie Kirk was shot dead at an event at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025, around 12 pm. The 31-year-old political commentator was at the event, with his Prove Me Wrong tent, where he answered people's questions and debated with them.

Before Charlie Kirk was shot, he was asked about gun violence by one such student. He questioned Kirk on how many transgender individuals have been mass shooters.

"Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?" the student asked.

Charlie Kirk replied, saying, "Too many." The student then stated that there have been five transgender mass shooters so far.

He then asked Kirk how many shootings have occurred in the US in the last ten years. The political commentator replied,

"Counting or not counting gang violence?"

Immediately after Kirk's question, he was shot in the neck. A viral video taken during the event showed that he started bleeding profusely and fell over, as the event attendees began running away.

Charlie Kirk has died at the age of 31 after being shot, Donald Trump announces. pic.twitter.com/InJAwBYfyv

— Pop Base (@PopBase) September 10, 2025

According to CBS News's September 10, 2025, report, over 3,000 people attended the event. UVU Chief of Police Jeffrey Long stated at a press conference shortly after that six university officers were present during the incident, and some local officers were in the crowd wearing regular clothes. Long said that they were not prepared for such a thing to happen.

"We train for these things, and you think you have things covered and these things, unfortunately, they happen. You try to get your bases covered, and, unfortunately, today we didn't," Jeffrey Long said.

An investigation is ongoing. Per CNN's report, one person was interrogated, and they were released on Wednesday afternoon.

Charlie Kirk's past remarks on gun violence resurfaced

As the news of the political commentator's sudden passing made headlines, netizens found one clip from 2023 where Kirk seemingly defended gun violence.

Charlie Kirk shared his thoughts on guns on April 5, 2023, at Turning Point USA Faith Event at the Salt Lake City campus of Awaken Church. He claimed that gun violence can never be eradicated.

However, it can be reduced by having more "armed guards" in front of schools.

Then Kirk stated that he believed having some deaths due to shootings was "worth it" because it supposedly protected the US citizens' 2nd Amendment rights, which is the right to keep and bear arms.

"I think it's worth to have a cost of unfortunately some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the 2nd Amendment to protect our other God-given rights. That is a prudent deal. It is rational. Nobody talks like this. They live in a complete alternate universe," Kirk stated.

Charlie Kirk (2023): "I think it's worth to have a cost of unfortunately some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the 2nd Amendment. That is a prudent deal. It is rational. Nobody talks like this. They live in a complete alternate universe." pic.twitter.com/sEHw5suXEW

— Ron Smith (@Ronxyz00) September 10, 2025

Charlie Kirk's shooter has not been identified, and an investigation is going on. US President Donald Trump shared his condolences on the social media platform Truth Social, saying that Kirk was "loved and admired" by everyone, including him.

The political commentator is survived by his wife, Erika Frantzve Kirk, and their two children. Stay tuned for more updates on Charlie Kirk's passing.