Charlie Kirk has died after being shot in the neck at an event at Utah Valley University.

The conservative commentator, 31, was hit by a single bullet while speaking to a crowd at the public university in Orem on Wednesday afternoon.

The father of two, renowned for his strong MAGA opinions and engaging debates with students nationwide, immediately collapsed after being struck by gunfire.

Kirk was answering a question about mass shootings mere seconds before he was struck. He was rushed to hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.

The killer is still on the loose, with a major manhunt by the FBI and Utah police underway. 

Charlie Kirk leaves his wife, Erika Frantzve, behind along with their three-year-old daughter and 16-month-old son. The couple marked their fourth wedding anniversary this past May.

Former President Donald Trump led the tributes for the deceased political commentator. “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

‘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!’

The President has ordered all American flags to be lowered to half-staff until Sunday evening at 6pm EST in honor of Kirk.

Charlie Kirk was shot in the neck at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem

The conservative firebrand, 31, was speaking to students when someone opened fire at the school on Wednesday

Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve , with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months

The MAGA star, wearing a white t-shirt, was sitting inside a tented gazebo when a bullet entered his neck, causing his head to violently collapse backwards. 

Screams were heard across the crowd of young people as those closest to Kirk rushed to his aid. 

UVU officials said the shot was fired from the top of the Losee Center, about 200 yards away from where Kirk was sitting on the college campus. 

They initially took an elderly man into custody who turned out not to be the shooter, police said.

Utah governor Charles Cox said on X: ‘I just got off the phone with President Trump. Working with the FBI and Utah law enforcement, we will bring to justice the individual responsible for this tragedy,’ Cox wrote on X.

‘Abby and I are heartbroken. We are praying for Charlie’s wife, daughter, and son,” Cox added.

Sophie Anderson, 45, who was standing 100 feet from the stage when the shooting happened, told Daily Mail that she almost got trampled as she ran off into the food court, where she hid in a closet. 

Officials said the shot was fired from the top of the Losee Center, about 200 yards away from where Kirk was speaking 

Images from the scene showed the crowd run as someone fired a single shot 

’He was shot in the neck and just fell over and he was just a fountain of blood,’ a witness told Daily Mail of the horrific shooting 

’The second it happened, I knew it was a gunshot,’ said Anderson, who was joined at the event by her boss Phil Lyman, a former Utah state representative who was handing out hats on stage with Kirk just five minutes earlier. 

’He was shot in the neck and just fell over and he was just a fountain of blood,’ she said. ‘They carried him off. All these kids are just falling apart and bawling.’ 

There are now questions being asked about security at the event, with witnesses claiming there were no metal detectors.

Kirk published a post on X just minutes before reports of the shooting emerged. 

‘WE. ARE. SO. BACK,’ Kirk wrote at 2.23pm EST. 

‘Utah Valley University is FIRED UP and READY for the first stop back on the American Comeback Tour.’

Utah Valley University evacuated the campus after the shooting and canceled classes until further notice.  

An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures. 

The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its ‘commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue.’

Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University showed Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans ‘The American Comeback’ and ‘Prove Me Wrong.’ 

A single shot rang out and Kirk was seen reaching up with his right hand as a large volume of blood gushed from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators were heard gasping and screaming before people started to run away. 

Vice President JD Vance took to social media to ask for prayers for Kirk before his death was announced.

‘Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,’ Vance wrote. 

President Trump led tributes to Kirk after he was fatally shot in the neck Wednesday

Kirk helped found Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit that focused on promoting conservatism on school campuses

Republican Utah senator Mike Lee said: ‘I am tracking the situation at Utah Valley University closely. Please join me in praying for Charlie Kirk and the students gathered there.’

Democratic California governor Gavin Newsom was one of the first liberals to ask for prayers for Kirk.

He wrote: ‘The attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.’

Previously named on Forbes 30 under 30 list, Kirk was the youngest speaker at the 2016 Republican National Convention as well as the opening speaker at the 2020 RNC. 

His podcast, The Charlie Kirk Show, reaches over 1 million people every day and has often ranked among the top ten shows on Apple News podcast charts. 

Kirk helped found Turning Point USA, a conservative nonprofit that focused on promoting conservatism on school campuses. 

FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency is monitoring the situation. 

Stunned spectators are heard gasping and screaming before people start to run away

People run after a shot was fired at U.S. right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk during a Utah Valley University speaking event

Kirk published a post on X just minutes before reports of the shooting emerged

‘Our thoughts are with Charlie, his loved ones, and everyone affected. Agents will be on the scene quickly and the FBI stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation,’ Patel said on X. 

The shooting comes amid a spike in political violence in the United States across all parts of the ideological spectrum. 

The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade to demand Hamas release hostages, and a fire set at the house of Pennsylvania’s governor, who is Jewish, in April.

The most notorious of these events is the shooting of Trump during a campaign rally last year.