September 10, 2025 • 11 mins
The suspect is still at large following the shooting and killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The Donald Trump ally was shot during an event at Utah Valley University this morning and later died in hospital.
Trump has expressed his shock and sadness and ordered all US flags to half-mast.
US correspondent Ira Spitzer says Kirk was an influential figure who helped Trump secure the youth vote in the 2024 election - and investigations are currently ongoing.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks ed B.
Follow this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk has been killed after being shot
at a campus event in Utah in the United States.
So suspect is still at large Following the shooting and
killing of Kirk. We're now joined live by a US correspondent,
Ira Spitzer from feature news story, Ira. Very good afternoon
to you.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Good appening to you now, Irah.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
For those in New Zealand who don't know Charlie Kirk,
who was he and how important a figure was he
in American politics?
Speaker 5 (00:42):
So, Charlie Kirk, who was thirty one years old when
he was shot and killed at this college campus in Utah,
was a very influential conservative influencer, conservative figure, a close
ally of Donald Trump, and somebody who was seen as
key to helping Donald Trump secure votes from youth voters,
(01:07):
especially during.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
The last election.
Speaker 5 (01:11):
He was the co founder of a conservative youth organization
called Turning Point USA, and he spent a lot of
time going around to college campuses across the country, debating
people in front of large audiences.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
He had a massive.
Speaker 5 (01:27):
Following on social media with more than millions of followers
on different platforms.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
So this was a.
Speaker 5 (01:36):
Real rising star and definitely an influential figure among the
MAGA movement, and certainly somebody who was closely allied with
Donald Trump.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
So walk us through what we know so far about
what happened on this Utah campus today.
Speaker 5 (01:53):
So Charlie Kirk had been speaking for about twenty minutes
at Utah Valley University, which is in the town of
orm Utah, when a single shot rang out and he
was hit in the neck by that bullet. There's a
video online of all of what I just described, a
(02:14):
very sort of distressing video that has been shared widely
and the.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
And there's also a video from the event.
Speaker 5 (02:24):
Some of this unconfirmed, but video of what appears to
be a figure on a rooftop about one hundred meters
away that gets up very quickly after the shooting runs away,
So that appears to be on The most prominent theory
(02:44):
about where that shot came from is from a rooftop
near the event. The authorities have taken a couple of
people into custody over the course of the day, but
have released both of those people. So as of now,
the shooter is still at large. Authorities at the university
say that there's not a danger on campus anymore.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
So it's hard to it's hard to.
Speaker 5 (03:10):
Really comprehend exactly how somebody could apparently escape from that
chaotic scene and still be at large. But that is
the situation that that faces us right now. So I'm
sure we'll have lots of updates in the coming hours
and days. But a very tragic and pretty intense situation
(03:31):
unfolding earlier in Utah.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
So there was an older gentleman that was originally grabbed,
but he he's been released.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Correct, So there.
Speaker 5 (03:40):
Was somebody who was taken into custody and was eventually
charged with something much much lesser unrelated to the shooting itself.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
And then later in the day, at.
Speaker 5 (03:56):
Least the day here in the US, the FBI Director
Cash Patel said that there is a subject in custody,
So it really seemed that there was a, you know,
a strong likelihood that this person had been caught. But
then somewhat surprisingly, a couple hours later, and just in
the past hour, the FBI director has said no, that
(04:17):
person has been released. So we have no idea who
committed this crime, this violent act there's no information about
whether this what exactly the motivation was. Utah's governor has
called it a political assassination. That's certainly given who was speaking,
(04:38):
that's certainly seems pretty likely that he was targeted because
of his viewpoints or because of his prominence. So a
lot now to find out about why Charlie Kirk was
assassinated in this way.
Speaker 4 (04:54):
What is the wider media and political reaction been across
the States.
Speaker 5 (04:59):
Well, there's been widespread condemnation of this murder from across
the political spectrum, starting of course with a press cident
Donald Trump. He posted on social media that saying that
that Charlie Kirk had the heart of America's youth like
no one else and saying that this was a tragic loss.
(05:20):
He's also ordered flags to be flown at half staff
through Sunday. So a very strong reaction from the President,
which is as you might imagine given the close relationship
between the two men. But former President Barack Obama, other
Democratic lawmakers California Governor Gavin Newsom have all expressed their
(05:44):
condolences and condemned the violence.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
So at least from a public perspective, there's.
Speaker 5 (05:48):
Certainly a bipartisan condemnation of this act.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
There's still lots of controversy.
Speaker 5 (05:55):
Some of his viewpoints were considered controversial on issues like
LGBT rights or immigration. He certainly was was very closely
aligned with some of the MAGA viewpoints on on those issues.
And in fact, in the US Congress earlier, a minute
of silence was declared by House Speaker Mike Johnson for
(06:18):
Charlie Kirk and there was a shouting match between the
lawmakers about whether that was.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Too much or too little of a tribute.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
So this certainly has stoked nerves and kind of revealed
lots of the tensions underneath the surface of America right now,
given the great political tension. But on the other hand,
simply the sheer brutality of the act, that's something that
(06:46):
has shocked everyone.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
Now, Now, what if people think of his beliefs. There's
one thing that we all know he did believe in,
which was open debate. And what do you think his
death will mean for these kind of open ear discussions
in America. It doesn't seem like they can continue, does it.
Speaker 5 (07:05):
Well, in many ways, it seems probable that that he
could become a martyr for that cause. Of free speech.
He would go around the country and debate people who
at different viewpoints of his own. Yes, certainly one could
(07:25):
take the conclusion perhaps that Okay, it's too dangerous to
continue doing that sort of thing. But I would imagine
that there's also going to be people who want to
kind of continue that that tradition and to you know,
to honor Charlie Kirk's memory. This is what he was
known for, was was doing that. So it would also seem,
(07:49):
you know, sort of tragic if if that sort of
debate stopped because of this assassination.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
But we'll see. It's a it's an uncertain time right now.
Speaker 5 (07:59):
There's been so much political violence in the US over
the past few years, things that we haven't seen here
in decades, and suddenly that's become more of the norm.
We've seen the nation attempts on President Trump for example,
last year, and really just a very divided country with
violence now coming to the four again.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Has here been discussed in IRA for some members of
Congress who have not afforded the full security detail to
step up that level of security, and not just the
members of Congress, other people in a similar situation to
Charlie Kirk.
Speaker 5 (08:32):
Well, there have definitely been calls for lawmakers and for
other politicians to have greater protection given the dramatic rise
in political violence that is to be expected. In terms
of people like Charlie Kirk. They would There has been
(08:52):
increased security at events like college campuses in recent years
because of threats, But it really does speak to the
difficulty of trying to protect prominent figures everywhere they go,
especially those that aren't you know, that aren't the president
or somewhat of that level. When you're talking about an
(09:12):
influencer going to college campus is just the sheer amount
of manpower and logistics involved to carry that out is
quite daunting. But there have been calls for that, and
when you see what happened today you can certainly see why.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
Now this question might be hard to answer, but what
do you think this means for America as a whole?
I mean, is it possible that could calm things down?
You know, some empathy towards different sides of the political
spectrum could appear. As you say, it's horrifically violent. Images
would be hard for even the most ardent opponent of
(09:47):
Charlie Cook to not feel empathy for a thirty one
year old father of two being gunned down as in
an open debate, or do you think it will only
make things more divided?
Speaker 5 (09:58):
Yeah, Unfortunately, it's hard for me to imagine that this
event would have any sort of effect of bringing Americans
together and having many people say, Okay, look it's gone
too far, we have to dial back the rhetoric. That's
that's not really what the the kind of tone.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Of the conversation and the debate is.
Speaker 5 (10:23):
Certainly you have some some people who who might think that.
But with the weaponization of information that of course we've
we've seen in recent years being propagated through social media,
and just the instrumental mentalization of violence that and and
instrumentalization of current events I've already seen, you know, just
(10:45):
just in hearing the debate around around Charlie Kirk, I
wouldn't say, uh that I would expect the rhetoric to
cool off because of this one act.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
But it's still it's still early.
Speaker 5 (10:58):
You know, we don't know the person's motivations, even who
murdered him, So that is definitely something that people are
quite interested in.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Arah, really appreciate your time this afternoon. It's going to
be a long few days for you and other reporters
and media there so really appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Story Thank you.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
That is US correspondent Iras Spitzer from Feature News Story Work.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
For more from News Talk sed B. Listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
You're listening to a podcast from News Talks ed B.
Follow this and our wide range of podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk has been killed after being shot
at a campus event in Utah in the United States.
So suspect is still at large Following the shooting and
killing of Kirk. We're now joined live by a US correspondent,
Ira Spitzer from feature news story, Ira. Very good afternoon
to you.
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Good appening to you now, Irah.
Speaker 4 (00:35):
For those in New Zealand who don't know Charlie Kirk,
who was he and how important a figure was he
in American politics?
Speaker 5 (00:42):
So, Charlie Kirk, who was thirty one years old when
he was shot and killed at this college campus in Utah,
was a very influential conservative influencer, conservative figure, a close
ally of Donald Trump, and somebody who was seen as
key to helping Donald Trump secure votes from youth voters,
(01:07):
especially during.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
The last election.
Speaker 5 (01:11):
He was the co founder of a conservative youth organization
called Turning Point USA, and he spent a lot of
time going around to college campuses across the country, debating
people in front of large audiences.
Speaker 3 (01:26):
He had a massive.
Speaker 5 (01:27):
Following on social media with more than millions of followers
on different platforms.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
So this was a.
Speaker 5 (01:36):
Real rising star and definitely an influential figure among the
MAGA movement, and certainly somebody who was closely allied with
Donald Trump.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
So walk us through what we know so far about
what happened on this Utah campus today.
Speaker 5 (01:53):
So Charlie Kirk had been speaking for about twenty minutes
at Utah Valley University, which is in the town of
orm Utah, when a single shot rang out and he
was hit in the neck by that bullet. There's a
video online of all of what I just described, a
(02:14):
very sort of distressing video that has been shared widely
and the.
Speaker 3 (02:21):
And there's also a video from the event.
Speaker 5 (02:24):
Some of this unconfirmed, but video of what appears to
be a figure on a rooftop about one hundred meters
away that gets up very quickly after the shooting runs away,
So that appears to be on The most prominent theory
(02:44):
about where that shot came from is from a rooftop
near the event. The authorities have taken a couple of
people into custody over the course of the day, but
have released both of those people. So as of now,
the shooter is still at large. Authorities at the university
say that there's not a danger on campus anymore.
Speaker 3 (03:07):
So it's hard to it's hard to.
Speaker 5 (03:10):
Really comprehend exactly how somebody could apparently escape from that
chaotic scene and still be at large. But that is
the situation that that faces us right now. So I'm
sure we'll have lots of updates in the coming hours
and days. But a very tragic and pretty intense situation
(03:31):
unfolding earlier in Utah.
Speaker 4 (03:33):
So there was an older gentleman that was originally grabbed,
but he he's been released.
Speaker 3 (03:39):
Correct, So there.
Speaker 5 (03:40):
Was somebody who was taken into custody and was eventually
charged with something much much lesser unrelated to the shooting itself.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
And then later in the day, at.
Speaker 5 (03:56):
Least the day here in the US, the FBI Director
Cash Patel said that there is a subject in custody,
So it really seemed that there was a, you know,
a strong likelihood that this person had been caught. But
then somewhat surprisingly, a couple hours later, and just in
the past hour, the FBI director has said no, that
(04:17):
person has been released. So we have no idea who
committed this crime, this violent act there's no information about
whether this what exactly the motivation was. Utah's governor has
called it a political assassination. That's certainly given who was speaking,
(04:38):
that's certainly seems pretty likely that he was targeted because
of his viewpoints or because of his prominence. So a
lot now to find out about why Charlie Kirk was
assassinated in this way.
Speaker 4 (04:54):
What is the wider media and political reaction been across
the States.
Speaker 5 (04:59):
Well, there's been widespread condemnation of this murder from across
the political spectrum, starting of course with a press cident
Donald Trump. He posted on social media that saying that
that Charlie Kirk had the heart of America's youth like
no one else and saying that this was a tragic loss.
(05:20):
He's also ordered flags to be flown at half staff
through Sunday. So a very strong reaction from the President,
which is as you might imagine given the close relationship
between the two men. But former President Barack Obama, other
Democratic lawmakers California Governor Gavin Newsom have all expressed their
(05:44):
condolences and condemned the violence.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
So at least from a public perspective, there's.
Speaker 5 (05:48):
Certainly a bipartisan condemnation of this act.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
There's still lots of controversy.
Speaker 5 (05:55):
Some of his viewpoints were considered controversial on issues like
LGBT rights or immigration. He certainly was was very closely
aligned with some of the MAGA viewpoints on on those issues.
And in fact, in the US Congress earlier, a minute
of silence was declared by House Speaker Mike Johnson for
(06:18):
Charlie Kirk and there was a shouting match between the
lawmakers about whether that was.
Speaker 3 (06:23):
Too much or too little of a tribute.
Speaker 5 (06:26):
So this certainly has stoked nerves and kind of revealed
lots of the tensions underneath the surface of America right now,
given the great political tension. But on the other hand,
simply the sheer brutality of the act, that's something that
(06:46):
has shocked everyone.
Speaker 4 (06:48):
Now, Now, what if people think of his beliefs. There's
one thing that we all know he did believe in,
which was open debate. And what do you think his
death will mean for these kind of open ear discussions
in America. It doesn't seem like they can continue, does it.
Speaker 5 (07:05):
Well, in many ways, it seems probable that that he
could become a martyr for that cause. Of free speech.
He would go around the country and debate people who
at different viewpoints of his own. Yes, certainly one could
(07:25):
take the conclusion perhaps that Okay, it's too dangerous to
continue doing that sort of thing. But I would imagine
that there's also going to be people who want to
kind of continue that that tradition and to you know,
to honor Charlie Kirk's memory. This is what he was
known for, was was doing that. So it would also seem,
(07:49):
you know, sort of tragic if if that sort of
debate stopped because of this assassination.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
But we'll see. It's a it's an uncertain time right now.
Speaker 5 (07:59):
There's been so much political violence in the US over
the past few years, things that we haven't seen here
in decades, and suddenly that's become more of the norm.
We've seen the nation attempts on President Trump for example,
last year, and really just a very divided country with
violence now coming to the four again.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
Has here been discussed in IRA for some members of
Congress who have not afforded the full security detail to
step up that level of security, and not just the
members of Congress, other people in a similar situation to
Charlie Kirk.
Speaker 5 (08:32):
Well, there have definitely been calls for lawmakers and for
other politicians to have greater protection given the dramatic rise
in political violence that is to be expected. In terms
of people like Charlie Kirk. They would There has been
(08:52):
increased security at events like college campuses in recent years
because of threats, But it really does speak to the
difficulty of trying to protect prominent figures everywhere they go,
especially those that aren't you know, that aren't the president
or somewhat of that level. When you're talking about an
(09:12):
influencer going to college campus is just the sheer amount
of manpower and logistics involved to carry that out is
quite daunting. But there have been calls for that, and
when you see what happened today you can certainly see why.
Speaker 4 (09:26):
Now this question might be hard to answer, but what
do you think this means for America as a whole?
I mean, is it possible that could calm things down?
You know, some empathy towards different sides of the political
spectrum could appear. As you say, it's horrifically violent. Images
would be hard for even the most ardent opponent of
(09:47):
Charlie Cook to not feel empathy for a thirty one
year old father of two being gunned down as in
an open debate, or do you think it will only
make things more divided?
Speaker 5 (09:58):
Yeah, Unfortunately, it's hard for me to imagine that this
event would have any sort of effect of bringing Americans
together and having many people say, Okay, look it's gone
too far, we have to dial back the rhetoric. That's
that's not really what the the kind of tone.
Speaker 3 (10:20):
Of the conversation and the debate is.
Speaker 5 (10:23):
Certainly you have some some people who who might think that.
But with the weaponization of information that of course we've
we've seen in recent years being propagated through social media,
and just the instrumental mentalization of violence that and and
instrumentalization of current events I've already seen, you know, just
(10:45):
just in hearing the debate around around Charlie Kirk, I
wouldn't say, uh that I would expect the rhetoric to
cool off because of this one act.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
But it's still it's still early.
Speaker 5 (10:58):
You know, we don't know the person's motivations, even who
murdered him, So that is definitely something that people are
quite interested in.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Arah, really appreciate your time this afternoon. It's going to
be a long few days for you and other reporters
and media there so really appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
Story Thank you.
Speaker 2 (11:14):
That is US correspondent Iras Spitzer from Feature News Story Work.
Speaker 1 (11:18):
For more from News Talk sed B. Listen live on
air or online, and keep our shows with you wherever
you go with our podcasts on iHeartRadio
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