UTAH — Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth group Turning Point USA, was shot and killed Wednesday during a public event at Utah Valley University, officials said. He was 31.

Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his organization when a single shot rang out, eyewitnesses said.

Video showed Kirk clutching his neck as blood poured out before stunned spectators screamed and ran for safety.

Authorities said the shooter remains at large. A person initially taken into custody was later confirmed not to be the suspect.

Police ordered students and staff to shelter in place as heavily armed officers and helicopters secured the campus.

President Donald Trump announced Kirk’s death on his Truth Social platform, calling him a “tremendous person” and a close friend.

“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” Trump wrote.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox vowed to bring the shooter to justice and expressed condolences to Kirk’s wife and children. “We are heartbroken,” he said.

The shooting comes amid a rise in politically motivated violence in the U.S., including last year’s assassination attempt on Trump and attacks on elected officials across party lines.

Kirk rose from teenage conservative activist to one of the most influential figures in the Republican movement, advising Trump’s 2016 campaign and building Turning Point into a major force on college campuses.

He was also a prominent evangelical voice, arguing against a strict separation of church and state and promoting the “Seven Mountain Mandate” to expand Christian influence in public life.

Leaders across the political spectrum condemned the attack. Vice President JD Vance called on Americans to pray for Kirk, while Democratic governors Gavin Newsom and JB Pritzker said political violence “has no place in America.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, both victims of political violence themselves, also denounced the shooting.

Utah Sen. Mike Lee and other lawmakers said they were closely monitoring the situation as the search for the gunman continued late Wednesday. — Agencies