A witness who saw the moment Charlie Kirk was fatally shot on Wednesday said the conservative activist had just begun debating someone about mass shootings and gun violence when the gunshot struck the 31-year-old in the neck.
Raydon DeChene told CBS News she was among the crowd at Kirk’s event at Utah Valley University, standing near the Turning Point USA co-founder’s “Prove Me Wrong” outdoor tent, where he invites students to challenge his political and cultural views.
“I was right up front,” DeChene said, who noted Kirk was, “ironically,” talking about gun control before he was shot.
Suddenly, DeChene said she saw Kirk grab what she believed was his neck.
“And there’s just blood pouring out everywhere and his eyes kind of rolled back,” she said. “At that point, I kind of looked up because it sounds like it came up from behind me, up the hill. It was just one pop, and then we all dropped to the ground. Then they told us all to run. So we all ran out.”
Other witnesses also told CBS affiliate KUTV that Kirk was about to answer a question about gun violence when he was shot.
Before the debate began, DeChene said the crowd was “just having a good time” as they enjoyed the atmosphere and chanting Kirk’s name. The event at the Orem, Utah, school was part of TPUSA’s “The American Comeback Tour.”
At at a news conference on Wednesday, UVU Chief of Police Jeffrey Long said there were over 3,000 people in attendance, but there were only six university officers working the event, with some plain clothes officers in the crowd. In addition to the local officers, Long said his team coordinated with Kirk’s security team.
“We train for these things, and you think you have things covered and these things, unfortunately, they happen,” Long told reporters. “You try to get your bases covered and, unfortunately, today we didn’t.”
When asked about what kind of security the event had, DeChene and other witnesses said that there was no major security or any metal detectors.
Jordan Last told CBS News he arrived at the event around 12 p.m. local time, when it started, saying that he saw some security detail but walked right past them. He said he made his way to the end of the line, about 50 to 100 feet to the right of Kirk, because he was “looking forward to challenging him on a couple of things.”
“I really respect him and I wanted to talk to him,” Last said. “The first question had just finished … and they had just gotten into the second question, I believe, and that’s when I heard a huge pop.”
Another witness, Max Stanley, a pitcher for the Utah Valley University baseball team, told KUTV that he and some of his friends were further away from the tent, but they could hear the loud gunshot.
“I saw his body actually in slow motion kind of fall over,” Stanley said. “There were people just rushing. I was doing all I could to help them out. Get them out.”
Several hours after the shooting, President Trump confirmed on social media that Kirk had died.
“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,” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The gunman was still at large as of Wednesday night. Two people had been taken into custody in the hours following the shooting, but both were eventually released, and neither had ties to the shooting, the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a statement. One of the men was charged with obstruction, the department said.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox also said authorities are looking for “anyone” who has any information about the shooting, adding that investigators don’t believe there is a second person involved.
While the motive behind the shooting is unknown, elected officials on both sides of the aisle swiftly condemned the attack on Kirk and denounced acts of political violence.
Mr. Trump said he’s ordering all American flags to be lowered to half-staff in honor of Kirk until Sunday.