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Good evening. I'm Maurice Dubois.
>> I'm John Dickerson.
>> Conservative activist and commentator
Charlie Kirk was shot and killed today
during an appearance at Utah Valley
University just north of Provo, Utah.
>> Kirk, a 31-year-old influential ally of
President Trump was speaking to a crowd
on the campus when he was shot in the
neck area.
>> Kirk was the co-founder of the
conservative youth organization Turning
Point USA. He had a popular podcast and
millions of followers on social media.
President Trump had credited him with
mobilizing young voters in the 2024
election. This evening, the president
broke the news of Kirk's death, calling
him a truly great American patriot, and
flags were lowered to half staff at the
White House in honor of Charlie Kirk.
>> CBS News justice correspondent Scott
McFarland has been speaking with his
federal law enforcement contacts and
leads us off tonight. Scott, what have
we learned?
>> Several hours after the shooting, it's
still unclear who pulled the trigger.
The FBI director gave shifting
information tonight. At first, saying a
subject had been taken into custody for
the shooting, then saying that subject
had been released.
Just minutes into Charlie Kirk's event
on campus at Utah Valley University
after he tossed hats to the crowd, he
began taking questions from the
audience.
>> Do you know how many mass there in
America over the last 10 years counting
or not counting gang violence?
Someone then fired a gun and the shot
struck Kirk in the neck.
>> Oh my god.
>> The crowd ran for cover.
[Applause]
>> While Kirk was carried away.
>> Roughly two hours later, President Trump
posted on social media that Kirk was
dead, saying he was loved and admired by
all, especially me.
>> 24 hours.
>> Utah's Republican Senator Mike Lee.
>> I'm devastated. I will miss him. My
heart goes out to all those who mourn
his passing today.
>> Reporter Brian Schne is with our CBS
affiliate KU TV in Salt Lake City. He
spoke to eyewitnesses.
>> We finally got up and followed the crowd
and I just kept holding her. I don't
even have my shoes on. I left my keys
like and everyone's just like scared.
Like it it's traumatizing like you know
it it scares like I don't even want to
go to school tomorrow. A student I spoke
to said they were there to exchange
ideas and get a better understanding of
the dialogue in today's country. But all
of that shattered as soon as Charlie
Kirk was shot.
>> I heard a loud bang which I figured a
shot would be a little bit louder, but
uh I just saw it hit him and then he
like fell over and slumped down and
everybody got down and was screaming and
then we all ran.
Sources tell CBS News the shot that
struck Kirk appears to have been fired
from an elevated position in an academic
building 1 to 200 yards away. Federal
agents blanketed the scene along with
local and university police canvasing
the area. Kirk spoke last week on his
podcast with Senator Lee about the tense
atmosphere at the university ahead of
his appearance.
>> Senator Lee, this is already making a
lot of headlines. People are very angry.
They're calling for my cancellation.
They think our permit should be pulled.
What? This is a greater response than
when I go to Berkeley.
>> The 31-year-old was married with two
young children. His daughter turned
three two weeks ago. In recent years,
Kirk had become one of the most
influential conservative figures,
rallying young voters to the Republican
party.
>> I run the largest pro-American student
organization in the country, Turning
Point USA, fighting for the future of
our republic.
>> He appeared multiple times with then
candidate Trump during the last
election. We're grateful to be joined
tonight by the founder of Turning Point
Action, a gentleman named Charlie Kirk.
>> The governor of Utah characterized this
as a political assassination. At one
point this afternoon, Utah Valley
University police were going building to
building and doortodoor to get students
off campus and away from campus. Maurice
John.
>> Okay, Scott McFarland, thank you.
>> Moving fast. We are joined now by our
chief Washington analyst, Robert Costa.
He spoke frequently with Charlie Kirk
>> and our senior White House
correspondent, Ed O'Keefe, can tell us
more about Charlie Kirk's friendship
with President Trump.
>> Bob, let's start with you. What can you
tell us about Charlie Kirk?
>> Charlie Kirk was someone who was a
father, he was a son, he was a husband,
and he was also a political force. So
many Republicans today are stunned to
see a rising star gunned down. On paper,
an activist, someone who was influential
with many young Americans, especially
those who are more on the right. Yet,
this is someone who has built
relationships in his 20s and early 30s
with some of the most powerful people in
this country, most notably President
Trump. They trusted Kirk as someone who
really knew how the country was mapped
out on college campuses, where the votes
were, where the power centers could be
for the next generation of the
Republican party. And so, it's not just
about a friend being lost, and someone
who's a confidant to those in the party.
But this was someone who was seen as the
leader for the party as it looked to the
future.
>> And Ed, Donald Trump gave Kirk a lot of
praise for helping him win reelection.
Just how important was he?
>> Oh, incredibly important to the Trump
re-election. Among other things, he was
among those pushing now President Trump
to pick JD Vance as his running mate,
arguing that he would help reflect the
next generation of the MAGA movement uh
should he uh run for president himself
one day. Very close with Donald Trump
Jr. went with him to Greenland earlier
this year when that was an issue for the
White House. and is someone who in the
during the presidential transition was
meeting on a regular basis with
President-elect Trump to pick cabinet
secretaries and other senior government
officials. In essence, saying to him,
"Pick this person for that job. Send
this other person to this other agency
and then making sure that Republican
senators would provide the votes
necessary to get them confirmed and put
pressure on a handful of Republican
lawmakers who raised concerns about some
of those picks. The thing to keep in
mind though, if you're someone who
doesn't know who this guy is, who who
Charlie Kirk was, and given the age we
live in where your algorithm may be
different than your neighbors or one of
your relatives, this was somebody who
that eyewitness said tried to help get a
better understanding of the dialogue to
like-minded conservatives across the
country. And in doing so was convincing
younger conservative voters across the
country to support President Trump last
year made him so essential to his
re-election campaign. Bob, you've
covered the conservative movement for a
long time. Kirk rose as the movement was
changing. Was he a product of that
change or was he a driver of that
change?
>> John, he he was certainly a driver of
that change. This is someone who you see
in Charlie Kirk, someone who saw Mitt
Romney's defeat in 2012. And he was able
to say, "Yes, maybe the traditional
Republican party was moving in that
direction, but he was open to new
arguments, open to nationalism, to
populism, to the rise of then
businessman Donald Trump in 2016. And he
saw an opportunity for the Republican
party to go in a new direction. And
that's why he was able to build a bond
with Tucker Carlson, with Donald Trump
Jr., and with President Trump. But it's
notable that Charlie Kirk was not just
one of so many conservative activists.
John, at the end of the day, this is
someone I observed up close at event
after event. He had joy. You may
disagree with Charlie Kirk's political
views. You may march in the streets
against them. You may be a major
supporter of his and count him as an
ally. At the end of the day, whether
it's California Governor Gavin Newsome
or others, they saw him as someone who
is a real competent conservative and
worthy of the arena he was in.
>> Robert Costa and Ed O'Keefe in
Washington for us. Thank you both.
>> We mentioned Charlie Kirk's work with
his conservative youth organization,
Turning Point USA.
>> Chris Van Cleave is outside Turning
Point headquarters in Phoenix.
>> Yep, guys. We've seen an elevated
security presence here. Phoenix police
on scene. Although Phoenix police also
say there are no indications of any
specific threats here locally against
the organization. A number of officers
have arrived in the last couple of
hours. That white van is blocking the
driveway. Still, we were here as we
watched as employees brought the
American flag and the Arizona state flag
to half staff. Most employees were sent
home this afternoon and we have watched
as a steady stream of people have come
to pay their respects dropping off
flowers. We've seen a lot of emotion.
People in tears embracing each other and
praying. Noticeably a number of young
people are among the folks coming to pay
their respects. Kirk did a lot of events
on college campuses as you've heard Bob
Costa say. One young man we talked to
said he felt that Kirk created a forum
that was welcoming for him and gave him
a voice. A voice that has now been so
violently silenced.
>> Chris Van Cleave for us. Thank you,
Chris.
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