SHOTLIST: UTAH, US (SEPT. 10, 2025) (ANADOLU - ACCESS ALL) 1. VARIOUS OF UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY EXTERIOR AFTER SHOOTING 2. FLOWERS LEFT IN UNIVERSITY GARDEN TO HONOR VICTIM 3. VARIOUS OF POLICE OFFICERS AND VEHICLES AROUND CAMPUS AREA 4. VARIOUS OF FLAGS LOWERED TO HALF-STAFF ON CAMPUSUTAH, US - SEPT. 10: Flags were lowered to half-staff across the United States on Wednesday, Sept. 10, after activist and social media figure Charlie Kirk was killed in a shooting at Utah Valley University. Earlier in the day, FBI Director Kash Patel said that a suspect taken into custody following the fatal shooting of US conservative commentator has been released after being interrogated. The Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS) and the FBI are co-leading the investigation in unison with the Utah County Attorney’s Office, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office and local police departments. Additional details were not immediately available, but earlier, officials at a press conference described the individual in custody as a "person of interest." Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said the only information that authorities have on the suspect was taken from closed-circuit television camera feeds and cautioned that the quality of the footage is subpar. Kirk was fatally shot during a university event in the western state of Utah on Wednesday. Footage posted on social media appears to depict Kirk sitting under a canopy addressing hundreds of assembled students at Utah Valley University when a sound like a gunshot rings out, Kirk recoils, and students began fleeing en masse. A separate video taken from close to where Kirk was speaking appears to show a bullet striking Kirk's neck, followed by sudden, massive blood loss. He was taken to Timpanogos Regional Hospital and hours later was pronounced dead. The Utah Valley University Police Department had six officers working to secure the event in addition to Kirk’s own security detail that constantly travels with him. Approximately 3,000 people attended the event in the university quad, an outdoor bowl courtyard on campus for events. US President Donald Trump confirmed that Kirk died after being shot, saying he "is no longer with us." "The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie," he wrote on his Truth Social social media platform. "He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us." Kirk, 31, co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012. The nonprofit has worked to mobilize conservative students on high school and college campuses. Its stated mission is to “identify, educate, train and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets, and limited government.” The group, where Kirk served as executive director, became a key player in Republican politics, regularly hosting large conferences and drawing high-profile figures from Trump’s circle. Kirk also emerged as a key voice in Trump’s signature MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement. Following his assassination, Turning Point USA released a statement on X asking people to respect the privacy and dignity of Kirk’s family, adding: “May he be received into the merciful arms of our loving Savior, who suffered and died for Charlie.” Born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, Kirk left college to focus on full-time political activism. He built a large following through campus events, social media and The Charlie Kirk Show, a popular talk show and podcast. He was known for confrontational campus debates, including his “prove me wrong” sessions, as part of the “American Comeback Tour,” where audience members debate the activist in a public setting. Wednesday’s shooting at Utah Valley University occurred during one of these events.