RALEIGH — Officials from different countries and from across the United States, including North Carolina, reacted to the assassination of Turning Point USA co-founder and CEO Charlie Kirk that occurred on a Utah college campus on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old Kirk was shot and killed while speaking on the Utah Valley University (UVU) campus as part of Turning Point USA’s (TPUSA) “The American Comeback Tour.” UVU was the tour’s kick-off site, and there were 14 future tour stops listed on TPUSA’s website spanning through October.
Multiple law enforcement agencies including the FBI are currently still searching for the suspect and have asked the public to submit any information they may have to their website at or to call1-800-call-FBI.
TPUSA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2012 by Kirk when he was 18 years old. Kirk built the organization nationwide, boasting chapters on over 3,500 campuses and more than 2,000 student groups, including 800-plus college chapters and exceeding 1,000 high school clubs.
TPUSA has a strong presence in North Carolina, with dozens of activist hubs across the state, including in urban areas like Charlotte, the Triad and Triangle regions.
President Donald Trump confirmed that Kirk had been murdered in a post on Truth Social, and he delivered a message from the Oval Office later that evening.
“To my great fellow Americans, I am filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah,” Trump said during his address. “Charlie inspired millions, and tonight all who knew him and loved him are united in shock and horror.”
Trump noted Kirk was a man of “deep, deep faith,” and a “patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loved so much, the United States of America.”
“He fought for liberty, democracy, justice, and the American people. He’s a martyr for truth and freedom,” said Trump. “And there’s never been anyone who was so respected by youth.”
Trump’s full address can be viewed on the White House YouTube channel.
“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,” first lady Melania Trump wrote on X. “Charlie Kirk’s life should serve as a symbolic reminder that compassionate awareness elevates family, love, and country.”
Following the news, Trump issued a proclamation rordering the flags to fly at half-staff in Kirk’s memory. Trump also stated he will posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Vice President JD Vance issued a lengthy statement on X, recounting how he first met Kirk, how Kirk had been supportive of Vance during the 2024 election cycle and concluding with how he learned of Kirk’s death.
“I was in a meeting in the West Wing when those group chats started lighting up with people telling Charlie they were praying for him,” Vance wrote. “And that’s how I learned the news that my friend had been shot. I prayed a lot over the next hour, as first good news and then bad trickled in.
“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. You ran a good race, my friend. We’ve got it from here.”
U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) called Kirk’s death “Utterly devastating” and said “Charlie was a close friend and confidant. He will be sorely missed by so many.” Johnson also called on every political leader to “clearly decry this violence.”
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who had appeared with Kirk at some of his campus events, gave a lengthy statement on X. Her post was accompanied by pictures of Gabbard with Kirk at various events.
Outpourings of condolences and prayers also came in from foreign leaders like Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, United Kingdom MP Nigel Farage and Argentina’s President Javier Milei.
Reactions from North Carolina officials
At around 3:39 p.m. on the day of the shooting, Gov. Josh Stein first issued a statement calling for people to pray for Kirk to recover, and wrote, “We can never tolerate or become numb to political violence. Our nation is weaker when people are afraid to share their opinions or disagree.”
Once it was confirmed Kirk had been murdered, Stein issued a second statement at 6:45 p.m., which mentioned other shootings and murders along with Kirk’s assassination.
“My heart is heavy with sadness from senseless murders — Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, Iryna Zarutska, and Charlie Kirk — and school shootings last month in Minneapolis and today in Colorado,” Stein wrote. “We are grappling with a series of devastating tragedies, one after another. I urge everyone to spend time with loved ones tonight, hold them close, and then come back tomorrow ready to fight for the soul of this nation. We cannot, we will not give up on America.”
House Speaker Destin Hall (R-Granite Falls) said in an X post that Kirk was a “devoted husband, a loving father of two, and a tireless voice for conservative values in America.”
“His tragic death was an act of senseless violence,” wrote Hall. “Pray for his family. Pray for America.”
“We lost a prominent voice in American politics today,” Senate Leader Phil Berger (R-Eden) wrote in his statement. “Charlie Kirk was a strong Christian who represented the best of us. His life’s mission was to have good-faith discussions with others who saw the world differently than he and help educate the public on conservative principles. I will continue to keep Charlie’s family in my prayers.”
North Carolina’s Attorney General Jeff Jackson did not issue a formal statement from his official NCAGO account on X, instead posting on his personal account.
The first post made was at 4:35 p.m., stating, “The attempt on Charlie Kirk’s life is despicable,” and political violence was not only a crime but an assault on freedom.
A little over 10 minutes later, at 4:49 p.m., Jackson added a reply to his original statement after seeing reports Kirk had died, calling it “truly awful.”
“This cannot be the direction we’re going as a country. This downward spiral of violence must stop.
Jackson wrote. “My prayers remain with Charlie – for his life, his family, and his friends.”
“Charlie Kirk was what everyone wanted their son to grow up to be like – a loving father, a devoted husband, and a strong leader who fought for what mattered,” wrote Michael Whatley, the former Republican National Committee chair and frontrunner to be Republican nominee for N.C.’s U.S. Senate seat in 2026. “He was an example to a generation of young people of what the Christian ideal was – loving, caring, and devoted to.”
Former Gov. Roy Cooper, who is running against Whatley, wrote he was praying Kirk’s family and, “Violence must have no place in our country and we should all remember our common humanity.
The North Carolina Republican Party’s Chairman Jason Simmons offered prayers to Kirk’s family, noting Kirk was an inspiration to young people.
“My heart breaks for everyone that was blessed by Charlie’s life and especially his family. He was a powerful force and voice for American exceptionalism,” Simmons said. “I was always struck by how he broke through and inspired so many young people to make a difference in our country. Most importantly, he was a proud husband and father who loved his family.”
North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton also made a statement, first posting about political violence and then posting an image of her mother asking if she needed to buy Clayton a bulletproof vest.
As Kirk was murdered on a college campus, UNC Board of Governors member Woody White expressed concerns that UNC System schools would cancel speakers like Kirk to “mitigate risk” and said schools should instead “double-down,” stating that “Charlie’s death can be an inflection point that results in a restoration of balance to what used to be places where all voices and viewpoints were respected.”
Several of North Carolina’s Congressional delegation also posted their reactions on social media.
Congressman Tim Moore (R-Kings Mountain) wrote, “This is what happens when you dehumanize those you disagree with.
“Charlie Kirk was a warrior for what he believed — he was also a husband & a father. It’s sick and un-American to call for or celebrate violence against someone you disagree with. It needs to stop.”
Congressman Brad Knott (R-Raleigh) wrote he was praying for the family and that Kirk “loved his country, neighbor, truth and his Savior.”
“In just a short time on this earth, he exemplified a capacity to pursue truth in love with focused determination in a way that changed a nation for the better,” Knott wrote. “Charlie ran his race, he kept the faith, and he finished his life on earth well.”
“Charlie Kirk being shot is THE turning point,” Congressman Pat Harrigan (R-Hickory) wrote as part of a lengthy X post that later went on to say the left has spent “years pouring gasoline on this fire—calling us Nazis, fascists, racists, and ‘enemies of democracy.’ They normalized hate. They mainstreamed rage. And now, violence is the predictable result.”
Congresswoman Alma Adams (D-Charlotte) also commented, writing, “Political violence has no place in our country,’ and that her prayers were with Kirk’s family and those who witnessed the act.
