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Charlie Kirk shooting eyewitness recall horror: ‘Saw his head fall back then...'
Charlie Kirk assassination eyewitness said the gunfire seemed to come from behind the audience. “Everybody ducked and then somebody said, ‘Run!’” she recalled.
Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot and killed on Wednesday local time at Utah Valley University in what officials described as a rooftop political assassination.
Witnesses described chaos and panic as the gunfire erupted during Kirk’s presentation before a crowd of several thousand.
Raydon Dechene, 51, was seated in the front row when the shot was fired. “He was in the middle of a sentence,” Dechene told People. “All of a sudden I heard a pop and I saw his head fall back and blood pouring out of his neck.”
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Dechene said the gunfire seemed to come from behind the audience. “Everybody ducked and then somebody said, ‘Run!’” she recalled. “He still had blood running down his neck. I thought for sure it was a one and done shot.”
Another attendee, Justin Hicken, 41, told The Independent that security measures were inadequate for such a large gathering. “It’s a bummer because whoever did this was able to enter the premises with a firearm,” Hicken said.
“It’s just a sad thing. I’m very conservative myself, I’m pro-2nd Amendment. But at the end of the day, you’ve got to make sure you’re taking good, secure measures when you’re hosting events like this. Because all it takes is one lunatic.”
Hicken estimated that 3,000 to 4,000 people were packed into the outdoor amphitheater. He said there were no metal detectors at the entrance.
“He got about 60 to 90 seconds into it, and that’s when the shot went off,” Hicken said, describing an exchange between Kirk and an attendee just before the attack. “I saw blood spurting from Charlie, his body kind of recoiled, everybody started screaming. People dropped to the floor, a whole bunch of bodies all over, just crazy stuff. As I was on the floor with bodies on top of me, I was listening, praying, that hopefully there are no more shots.”
Also Read | After Utah horror, Charlie Kirk's remarks on Indians immigrating to US resurface
Police and federal agents continued searching surrounding neighborhoods late Wednesday. Armed officers were seen knocking on doors and showing residents a photograph of a person of interest.
Authorities said no one was in custody late Wednesday local time. A law enforcement official familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the Associated Press that investigators were pursuing a new person of interest.
Utah University campus closed till Monday
Utah Valley University announced Wednesday evening that its campus has been cleared following the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“There is NO ongoing threat to campus,” the university said in a post on X, confirming the situation was “all-clear.”
Despite that assurance, officials said the campus will remain closed until Monday while the investigation continues.
The Utah Valley University campus was placed on lockdown, with officials ordering students and staff to “secure in place.” The school’s emergency information page told anyone still on campus to call authorities for an escort out.
“This is a dark day for our state. It’s a tragic day for our nation,” Utah Governor Spencer Cox said. “I want to be very clear this is a political assassination.”
Also Read | Trump blames 'radical left' for murder of Charlie Kirk, says will punish each one
Earlier, FBI Director Kash Patel had said on social media that a “subject” had been detained, but later clarified that the individual had been questioned and released.
Trump mourns ally Charlie Kirk
US President Donald Trump confirmed on Truth Social that conservative activist and close ally Charlie Kirk died Wednesday after being shot at a college event in Utah.
“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,” Trump wrote.
The president said he has ordered all American flags nationwide to be flown at half-staff until 6 p.m. ET on Sunday.
The 31-year-old, Kirk, rose from a teenage conservative campus activist to a prominent podcaster and outspoken Trump ally.
