Live updates: Photo of person of interest in Charlie Kirk assassination released, rifle recovered

Two cousins stood near an entrance to the Utah Valley University campus today with signs in support of Kirk amid the manhunt for his killer.

McKinley Shinkle, 25, said it was their way to “send a message to the killer and those who support him that we are not afraid and you cannot tread on us.”

One of their signs referred to Kirk as an American hero.

Anthony Shinkle, 19, a freshman at the university, said they “want people to know that you can’t kill free speech.”

Elsewhere on campus, a memorial to Kirk was growing, with flowers, American flags and red, white and blue balloons.

FBI director Kash Patel arrived at UVU's campus this evening to tour the crime scene where Kirk was fatally shot, the state Public Safety department said.

He'll tour the site with Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason.

Vance landed in Phoenix aboard Air Force Two this evening.

Earlier, he and the second lady landed at the National Guard’s Roland R. Wright Air Base in Salt Lake City, where they met with Kirk's family and friends.

The visit to Utah was to escort Kirk's casket to Phoenix, three sources familiar with the plans told NBC News earlier today. A casket was seen being removed from Air Force Two shortly after it landed in Phoenix.

The state Public Safety department released additional photos tonight showing the person it has described as a person of interest in Kirk's killing.

The images show a person wearing a dark, long-sleeved shirt with an American flag on the chest, a baseball cap, sunglasses and a backpack going up and down stairs.

It was easy for the shooter to access the roof of a Utah Valley University building and open fire yesterday, as the building had open pathways and lacked locked doors, Utah Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said.

Mason said security video tracked the suspected shooter moving across campus to the roof. After the shooting, the gunman fled into some woods, where a rifle was later recovered.

“He actually jumped from the roof," Mason said. "He was able to jump from the roof down onto a grassy area and out through a parking lot.”

The single shot was fired from a distance of 175 yards, Mason said, adding that the distance is an "average shot" for an avid rifleman and that military training isn't required to pull off such a shot.

"Utah is full of hunters and avid outdoorsman riflemen. And that is an average shot. Not saying it’s easy, but it doesn’t necessarily require an expertise," he said.

Kirk's assassination is sending shock waves through Capitol Hill, with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle expressing fears for their own safety and taking greater security precautions after a summer of political violence.

Members are beefing up their security and moving public events indoors or canceling them altogether. One is even vowing to carry firearms.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, d-N.Y., the progressive star who has faced numerous death threats over the years, said today she had postponed two public events planned for this weekend in North Carolina.

“From the moment I was elected, I have felt that I accept a certain level of risk in doing this job,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters. But she added that security protocols for members of Congress are “for a bygone time. … They’re not designed for a digital threat environment era.”

Other lawmakers say they won’t hold any large town halls or public events — just small, private events.

Read the full story here.

Twenty-four hours after the fatal shooting, there’s still no suspect in custody, the state Public Safety department said. 

“Multiple leads are currently being investigated,” it said in a statement this afternoon.

Earlier today, images of a potential shooter were released to the public. Anyone who recognizes the person is asked to call the tip line. 

The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of the shooter. 

Meanwhile, federal officials are analyzing the weapon — described as a high-powered bolt-action rifle recovered in a wooded area where the shooter had fled.

Trump said this afternoon that he had spoken to Kirk's wife, Erika. “We had a long talk, and she’s devastated, absolutely devastated," Trump said on the White House lawn.

Trump also said he hears that authorities are making “big progress” in the search for the shooter. “He’s an animal, a total animal,” Trump said.

He said he had "an indication” of a possible motive but did not elaborate.

Trump also said he plans to attend Kirk’s funeral, which he said he believes is next weekend in Arizona.

Kirk "received thousands" of threats "throughout his life" but chose not to let them stop him from trying to reach out to people, his youth-oriented conservative political group said today.

Turning Point USA said it "lost a leader, a mentor, and a friend" when Kirk was killed yesterday at Utah Valley University.

"Charlie was no stranger to threats," the group said in a statement. "He received thousands throughout his life. But he always prioritized reaching as many young Americans as possible over his own personal safety."

It added: "Now, Charlie has become America’s greatest martyr to the freedom of speech he so adored."

Vance, traveling aboard Air Force Two, landed in Utah this afternoon.

He’s expected to meet with Kirk’s family and friends, according to three sources familiar with the plans.

From there, Kirk’s casket, along with his friends and family, will fly with Vance and the second lady to Phoenix. 

Isaac Harris, 21, a freshman at UVU who started classes only a couple of weeks ago, went on his lunch break to hear Kirk. He said he was surprised to see thousands at the event.

Harris was two rows from Kirk and was watching him answer questions when the shot was fired.

He distinctly remembers that the question being asked was about the right for people who are transgender to own guns, the second question asked after one about Mormonism vs evangelicalism.

“For five seconds, I was in a state of shock," said Harris, who is a member of the ROTC.

He said he was on the right side of the field and at first thought it might be shouting. He ran to get behind a concrete barrier, but the crowd began to surge his way, so he ran to find a room in a building to take refuge. He ran inside a room where others were huddled and waited nearly 30 minutes. He said he realized only one shot had been fired but didn’t leave until SWAT officers cleared them to go.

His aunt, Robin Harris, 41, has a home that backs up to the campus. She said officers and law enforcement searched their home and yard and asked for camera video from her and neighbors. She said that she showed them but that her camera had not picked up anything.

“Nothing like that happens in Orem,” she said. “We are in our bubble” away from the political division and what they see in the news, she said. “And now it’s happening here.”

FBI director Kash Patel is on his way to Orem, according to the Utah Public Safety department. He’s expected to hold a joint news conference with law enforcement when he arrives. 

In the wake of Kirk's death, former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson expressed concern today that "the effort and the resources that we put behind tracking domestic terrorism may ebb and flow based on administrations."

Most terrorist attacks now, in this country, are of a domestic nature, homegrown violent extremism," Johnson told Katy Tur.

Johnson, who led the department of Homeland Security under President Barack Obama, said he worries that the spate of political violence is growing and mirrors what unfolded during the 1960s.

Tanner Lundquist, 31, an alum of Utah Valley University, said Kirk's death has led him to be more vocal about his views.

"We don’t want violence, and we don’t want conservatives acting irrationally out of retribution. But I do think we have to be willing to say and acknowledge that Charlie Kirk was a much more listened-to voice than two state senators and representatives," he said, referring to the recent killing of state legislators in Minnesota.

"Conservatives are being killed," he said.

Lundquist, who stopped by the university with his father, Steven, to pay his respects, recalled studying in the courtyard where Kirk was shot. He said he is deeply affected by the catapulting of his low-key alma mater into the middle of national political violence.

"My fear is this was designed to give universities a really good excuse to say, ‘We’re not letting anybody on our campus to talk about political issues because it’s a safety concern,'" he said.

Lundquist said the university has a more liberal-leaning population, preferred by people disenfranchised by Brigham Young University.

It was a lone shot, fired from a distance of nearly two football fields, that struck its target in the neck.

But the killing of Kirk would not have required an expert marksman, according to multiple firearms experts. They said the weaponry available today would allow even a novice shooter to pull off such a hit, making such tragedies exceedingly difficult to prevent.

“A person with minimal training and a scope would be able to easily hit a small target at 200 yards,” said Scott Sweetow, a retired executive with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Trained police and military snipers are able to hit targets in the head from more than 500 yards away, he and other experts said.

Read the full story here.

The state Public Safety department was set to hold a news conference this afternoon, but it has been delayed "due to the rapid developments in our investigation." The FBI was also supposed to be at the news conference. A new time was not immediately available.

Vice President Jd Vance is en route to Salt Lake City, where he is expected to meet with Kirk's family and friends.

Kirk's family, friends and the Vances will then fly with his casket to Phoenix on Air Force Two, three sources familiar with the plans told NBC News.

Sen. Tim Kaine, d-Va., spoke about Kirk's death and political violence in two Senate Committee hearings this morning, recognizing that some of his colleagues had been friends with Kirk and others have faced political violence as well.

"I never met him, but a number of my colleagues on the Republican side not only had him as an acquaintance, but as a friend. And I remembered how devastated Tina and Amy were when their friends were gunned down a month or so ago," he told reporters after those hearings, referring to Sens. Tina Smith and Amy Klobuchar, both Minnesota democrats, and the shooting of two Minnesota state lawmakers in a political assassination in July.

"We got a colleague, Mark Kelly, whose life was unalterably shaped by political violence," Kaine continued. "We have a colleague, Steve Scalise, whose life was unalterably shaped by political violence. President Trump survived an assassination attempt, and then another assassination plot was foiled. It’s just too common.”

For hours after the shooting, several generative AI platforms shared false, misleading or inaccurate statements in their responses.

Grok, the chatbot service from xAI integrated into X, falsely labeled a 77-year-old former banker who was in Toronto as the suspect. Grok stated that The New York Times, CNN and Fox News had verified the allegation, but none of the outlets had reported the man as a suspect.

Online misinformation watchdog NewsGuard identified a now-deleted post from Perplexity AI’s automated X account that stated Kirk was still alive more than 12 hours after he had been killed.

The growing use of AI chatbots may help fuel the spread of misinformation online. A recent analysis found that generative AI tools were almost twice as likely to spread false news information in August 2025 compared to the same time last year.

Members of an FBI forensics team collected evidence from a wooded area near Utah Valley University today.

Bart Tippetts, 79, said he was napping in his apartment across from the campus when he heard planes, trucks and police. Students at a nearby Walmart store told him about the shooting. A political progressive, he visited a main entrance where some flowers had been laid because he said it was history.

Tippetts, a Vietnam War veteran, said of Kirk: "I don’t like his views, but I don’t like the violence either."

"He says some extremist things. He’s a Trump supporter, I’m not," he continued. "The heated rhetoric coming from both sides is troubling, and we got to look beyond party deprecation and views and see people as human beings."

The FBI released a photo of a person of interest it is seeking in connection with Kirk's fatal shooting at Utah Valley University.

The photo shows a person walking up a flight of stairs wearing dark jeans, a black long-sleeved shirt, a black hat and black sunglasses. The post from the FBI office in Salt Lake City also includes a link to a digital media tips page.

In a separate post, the FBI said it was offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the individual(s) responsible for the shooting.

donald Trump Jr., Tucker Carlson and Benny Johnson will join Megyn Kelly on SiriusXM’s Triumph channel at noon today.

"Today we remember Charlie Kirk," Kelly's show said in a post on X.

After a closed-door meeting on government funding, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, d-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, d-N.Y., spoke with reporters about Kirk's death and Trump's response to the killing.

"This is a time that all Americans should come together and feel and mourn what happened," Schumer said. "Violence, which affects so many different people, so many different political persuasions, is an affliction of America, and coming together is what we ought to be doing, not pointing fingers of blame."

Jeffries said about Trump's decision last night to blame the left: "This moment requires leadership that brings the American people together, as opposed to trying to further divide us. Political violence in any form against any American is unacceptable."

Schumer added that Kirk’s death should not be used to "seek political advantage."

"I was just going to say the first reaction of everybody, everybody ought to be to say, this is a horrible thing," Schumer said. "We ought to come together and not try to seek political advantage from it."

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, d-N.Y., just told reporters she has rescheduled some events, including two planned for this weekend, due to the Kirk shooting.

"I was supposed to have a rally in North Carolina this weekend. I have rescheduled it," she said.

Ocasio-Cortez said that her team tries to hold events indoors now, citing the assassination attempt on donald Trump last year. Sometimes, she said, they'll move outdoors for a large crowd. "But even this weekend, prior to what happened, we had decided on maintaining an indoor event because the nature of escalation has been gradually increasing for quite some time. And after yesterday’s event, we’ve postponed," she said.

Asked whether she had postponed due to security issues or out of respect for Kirk, she responded: "I think it's both."

Mourners took part in a wreath-laying ceremony outside the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, today.

After laying a wreath at the Pentagon following the 9/11 memorial service, Trump told reporters that he plans to speak with Kirk's family this afternoon.

Trump expressed disbelief about his death and said he will have more to say about the tragedy later.

The State department has directed consular officers to "undertake appropriate action" against foreigners in the U.S. who are "praising, rationalizing, or making light" of Charlie Kirk’s death on their social media.

"In light of yesterday’s horrific assassination of a leading political figure, I want to underscore that foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country," deputy Secretary of State Landau said on X. "I have been disgusted to see some on social media praising, rationalizing, or making light of the event, and have directed our consular officials to undertake appropriate action."

Landau added that his followers should "please feel free to bring such comments by foreigners to my attention so that the @Statedept can protect the American people."

In his posts, Landau did not clarify what particular group "foreigners" referred to. He also didn’t mention what "taking action" against people would look like and whether that could include deportation.

defense Secretary Pete Hegseth paid tribute to Kirk at the 9/11 remembrance ceremony this morning at the Pentagon.

"The young firefighters who answered the call give me hope. The young agents who patrol our border give me hope. The life example, and even death, of Christ follower and American patriot Charlie Kirk give me hope," he said.

"Sheer courage, no matter the arena," Hegseth said. "Charlie, we love you. Oh, we know that you have heard the Lord’s words. Well done, good and faithful servant."

He added, "Like those on 9/11, you'll never be forgotten."

Trump just announced during an address at the Pentagon commemorating 9/11 that he will be giving Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously. He added that while the date will be announced soon, "I can only guarantee you one thing, we will have a very big crowd, very, very big.”

"Before we begin, let me express the horror and grief so many Americans at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk have felt. Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people," he said to start his remarks.

"Our prayers are with his wonderful wife, Erika, and his beautiful children — fantastic people they are. We miss him greatly, yet I have no doubt that Charlie’s voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on."

Read the full article here

The mother of a man who was interviewed by the FBI in the shooting and later cleared said her son was at the Kirk event because he admires him, and he was simply swept up in the chaos.

"He likes him. He went to a Turning Point leadership conference in detroit," Juliette Qureshi said of her son, Zachariah, 25.

Zachariah told his family he was about 25 feet away when the shooting occurred, and "he was unsure initially if the noise was a firecracker."

"For a second, it was unclear if it was part of the event," Qureshi said. "They rushed him away."

As of this morning, officials have received more than 130 tips.

"I assure you that all leads and tips are being fully investigated," said Robert Bohls, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Salt Lake City field office.

He asked that anyone with video or images from the shooting submit them to the FBI.

The shooter is believed to have used a high-powered bolt-action rifle, Robert Bohls, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Salt Lake City field office, said at the news conference.

"That rifle was recovered in a wooded area where the shooter had fled," he said.

The FBI laboratory will be analyzing the weapon.

Investigators have also collected "footwear impression, a palm print and forearm imprints for analysis," he said.

Mason said officials have good video of the shooter but are not releasing it at this time. Officials noted that the shooter appeared to be college-age, but declined to give more details.

He said they are using technology to try to identify the individual. Mason said if that fails, officials will reach out to the public to help.

"But we are confident in our abilities right now, and we would like to move forward in a manner that keeps everyone safe and then moves this process appropriately," Mason said.

Officials have been able to track the shooter's movements before and after the attack up until the shooter fled.

Utah dPS Commissioner Beau Mason said the shooter arrived on the campus of Utah Valley University at 11:52 a.m. Authorities then tracked the subject through stairwells and up to and across the roof from where they fired the fatal shot.

After the shooting, Mason said officials tracked the shooter's movements as they moved to the other side of the building, jumped off the roof and fled to a nearby neighborhood.

Officials were combing through the neighborhood and contacting witnesses, as well as anyone with doorbell cameras, to identify leads.

"We do have good video footage of this individual. We are not going to release that at this time," Mason said. "We are working through some technologies and some ways to identify this individual."

Mason added, "If we are unsuccessful, we will reach out to you as the media, and we will push that publicly to help us identify them. But we are confident in our abilities right now, and we would like to move forward in a manner that keeps everyone safe and then moves this process, appropriately."

Utah department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason began this morning's press conference by acknowledging 9/11 as authorities continue to look for the shooter.

"Historically, on 9/11, law enforcement has come together as a group to recognize and honor those who sacrificed to preserve the ideals of this country, the freedoms of this country," Mason said. "Instead, we find ourselves today hunting a murderer who chose to violate our rights, the rights of an individual within this country."

An FBI special agent in charge and the Utah department of Public Safety commissioner will give updates on the Charlie Kirk shooting today at 9 a.m. ET.

Viewers can watch the news conference on Instagram at @UtahdPS.

A suspect in Charlie Kirk's assassination remains at large, with few leads for authorities to follow in their hunt for the person responsible.

Overnight, some names were thrown into the mix, and at least two men were taken into custody and later released, but they all turned out to be dead ends. It remains unclear who this person is and where they are.

Officials have said they saw the person, who was wearing dark clothing, flee the scene on security video from a rooftop about 200 yards from where Kirk was speaking.

The shooter's distance indicated they were using a rifle or a hunting rifle, but authorities have yet to identify the gun used in the assassination.

The person was set up far enough away from the secured event to get a good angle to fire at Kirk and had the discipline to fire only one shot and then disappear. The lack of shots made it more difficult for officials to follow the shooter.

No motive has been identified, but authorities have called it a "targeted attack" and a "political assassination."

Officials are highly concerned about the uprising of targeted violence and political violence in the U.S.

The manhunt for the person who shot and killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk remains underway after the shocking scene at a Utah university yesterday.

Kirk was discussing mass shootings in the U.S. at Utah Valley University when a shot rang out, striking him in the neck. The moment Kirk was shot was captured on video from multiple angles. At least one lawmaker is calling for the videos of the moment to be removed from online searches.

Witnesses described seeing Kirk slump backward before he hit the floor as chaos erupted among event attendees who ran for cover.

Kirk was whisked away by his team and taken to the hospital in a private vehicle. President donald Trump later announced that Kirk had died.

Authorities have said the shooting was a "targeted attack" and a "political assassination."

The shooter appeared to have fired the fatal shot from the rooftop of a building about 200 yards from where Kirk was speaking to a crowd of thousands.

Authorities took one man into custody shortly after the shooting and then released him soon after. Later in the evening, FBI director Kash Patel posted on social media that a second man had been taken into custody, but less than two hours later, he said the person was released.

"There are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals," authorities said last night. They are now asking the public for tips.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., called for social media executives to "remove the horrifying videos of Charlie Kirk’s murder."

Graphic videos circulated on social media shortly after the shooting.

"He has a family, young children, and no one should be forced to relive this tragedy online," she said. "These are not the only graphic videos of horrifying murders circulating — at some point, social media begins to desensitize humanity. We must still value life."

Trump's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, posted a tribute to Kirk, saying she was "devastated."

"Shocked. Numb. devastated," she wrote. "And utterly heartbroken for Charlie’s young family. You can feel his beautiful spirit in this picture, and it’s how I will always remember him. Charlie, you changed the world — you will be so deeply missed, my friend."

Vice President Jd Vance and second lady Usha Vance will travel to Salt Lake City to pay respects to Kirk's family, according to a source familiar with the plans.

They previously planned to head to New York City for a 9/11 observance event.

Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was carried to a waiting vehicle as chaotic scenes unfolded moments after he was fatally shot during an event at a Utah college campus. Local and federal law enforcement both said the shooting was a targeted attack.

Supporters of Kirk paid tribute at Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem, Utah, after he was fatally shot at a nearby event. Bryan Colton said he admired Kirk’s ability to “speak with people,” adding that he “represented the best of” the U.S.

New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani called Kirk's death a "horrific political assassination," condemning gun violence in the country.

"What should be a rarity has turned into a plague," he said, speaking at the annual Jews for Economic and Racial Justice fundraiser event last night. "It cannot be a question of political agreement or alignment that allows us to mourn. It must be the shared notion of humanity that binds us all," he said.

Mamdani added, "I wish that Charlie rest in peace as well as every other victim of gun violence from this day and before in our country."

Russian officials condemned the killing of Kirk and praised his support for the country.

dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council and a former president, blamed “a variety of left-wing liberal scum” supportive of Ukraine for the killing of Kirk.

“Who’s next? Maybe it’s time for the MAGA team to realize that by supporting Ukraine, they’re supporting murderers,” he said on X.

Kirk greeted the crowd as he arrived at Utah Valley University yesterday. The co-founder of Turning Point USA was speaking as part of his “American Comeback Tour” before he was shot and killed.

Kirk's "The American Comeback Tour" was scheduled to last into October and beyond, with the conservative commentator expected to arrive at Colorado State University next week, according to the tour's website.

The stops also included the University of Minnesota on Sept. 22, Virginia Tech on Sept. 24, Utah State University on Sept. 30, Indiana State University on Oct. 21 and Louisiana State University on Oct. 27.

Stops beyond October were expected to be announced later.

Following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, several democratic lawmakers condemned the shooting from the Capitol in Washington, saying “gun violence and political violence in all of their forms” should be rejected. Kirk, who was a close ally of President donald Trump, was shot and killed while speaking at an event at a college campus is Utah in what the state’s governor called a “political assassination.”

The United States embassies in Seoul, South Korea, and in Tokyo have lowered their flags to half-staff.

George Glass, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, called Kirk a "leader of young Americans" and a champion of "free speech" on X.

Leaders from the United Kingdom, Italy and Israel were among those to pay tribute to Charlie Kirk after his killing.

Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, called it an “atrocious murder, a deep wound for democracy and for those who believe in freedom.” She offered “my condolences to his family, to his loved ones, and to the American conservative community.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on X: “Charlie Kirk was murdered for speaking truth and defending freedom. A lion-hearted friend of Israel, he fought the lies and stood tall for Judeo-Christian civilization.”

Netanyahu said he spoke to Kirk two weeks ago and invited him to Israel.

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said on X that Kirk represented the “Judeo-Christian values that unite Israel and America.”

“It is heartbreaking that a young family has been robbed a father and a husband,” wrote British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on X. “We must all be free to debate openly and freely without fear — there can be no justification for political violence.”

Chaotic scenes unfolded in the seconds following the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk yesterday, according to cellphone footage captured by people who were just feet away.

Kirk' is seen being carried away to a vehicle by six men, while crowds scream and run for cover in confusion and terror.

A candlelit vigil for Kirk outside Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem, Utah late last night.

Vice President Jd Vance has penned a long tribute to Charlie Kirk, a close friend and partner in boosting the popularity of President donald Trump and the MAGA movement.

Vance praised Kirk and said he was a pivotal figure in the launching of his own political career, as well as introducing him to Trump, and in securing Trump's presidential election wins.

The New York Yankees tonight held a moment of silence in memory of Kirk, who was fatally shot while at a public event in Utah yesterday.

Hundreds of people were at Utah Valley University to see conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who had just thrown hats to the cheering crowd and posted on X: "WE. ARE. SO. BACK," touting the first stop on what he called "The American Comeback Tour."

The 31-year-old conservative star had rallied young people behind President donald Trump.

He had just started talking under a white tent when witnesses say one shot rang out.

Charlie Kirk, the influential conservative activist who co-founded Turning Point USA when he was 18 and went on to become a leading voice in President donald Trump’s MAGA movement, died yesterday after being shot at a political event in Utah.

The popular podcast host and married father of two young children was 31.

“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump announced in a post on Truth Social.

“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. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!” Trump added.

Kirk’s death came in an atmosphere of growing threats and violence against political figures on both sides of the aisle, from Trump to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to state lawmakers in Minnesota.

Read the full story here.