Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of US President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, was shot and killed at one of his trademark events at a college in Utah on Wednesday.

Shortly after he began speaking at the "Prove Me Wrong" table as part of the "American Comeback" tour at Utah Valley University, a shot rang out. A video shows Kirk clutching his neck and collapsing, bleeding profusely from the neck.

At the moment he was shot, Kirk, a staunch advocate of the Constitution's Second Amendment right to bear arms, was being questioned by an audience member about gun violence, according to multiple videos of the event posted online. He was taken to the hospital and later died.

Kirk was 31 and married to podcaster Erika Frantzve and had two children, who were believed to be at the event when he was shot.

He launched the conservative organization Turning Point USA in 2012 at the age of 18, targeting a younger audience, and often made appearances at liberal-leaning campuses. He had a popular podcast and millions of followers on X.

A spokesperson for Utah Valley University said the shot came from a building about 200 meters away.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the investigations are ongoing.

Kirk had become an unofficial confidant of Trump, and had spoken at the last three Republican conventions.

"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 on Truth Social. He ordered US flags lowered to half-staff until Sunday.

As news of the shooting spread, lawmakers began to argue about how to honor Kirk. US Representative Lauren Boebert, a Colorado Republican, raised her hand and asked for someone to lead a prayer, adding, "Silent prayers get silent results."

Some Democrats then questioned why other killings that involved less prominent figures were not getting the same attention, according to one lawmaker present, which resulted in swearing and accusations about politicizing tragedies.

Gun control urged

Christian Heyne, chief policy officer at Brady, a gun violence prevention group named after James Brady, a former White House press secretary shot and seriously wounded during a 1981 assassination attempt against Republican president Ronald Reagan, urged the parties to find common ground on guns.

"Gun violence doesn't check party ID. It is indiscriminate. And the American people always lose," Heyne posted on the social media site Bluesky. "We know change is possible. We must stop pretending there are 'sides' and fight together to build a safer future."

Gabby Giffords, a former House representative who suffered a brain injury after being shot in the head while meeting constituents at a grocery store in 2011, said: "Democratic societies will always have political disagreements, but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence."

Kirk was a regular on cable TV and the internet, where he defended conservative positions on issues such as abortion, religion, gender, immigration and the culture war.

The assassination highlights a surge of US political violence, one that some experts fear will likely deepen political divide in the US and inflame the country and lead to more unrest.

"This event is horrifying, alarming, but not necessarily surprising," said Michael Jensen, a researcher at the University of Maryland.

In the first six months of the year, the US experienced about 150 politically-motivated attacks — nearly twice as many as over the same period last year, said Jensen.

Trump himself was nearly assassinated in July last year when a bullet grazed his ear during a campaign event in Pennsylvania.

"I think we are in a very, very dangerous spot right now that could quite easily escalate into more widespread civil unrest if we don't get a hold of it," Jensen said. "This could absolutely serve as a kind of flashpoint that inspires more of it."

"Extreme political violence is increasingly becoming the norm in our country, and the shooting of Charlie Kirk is indicative of a far greater and more pervasive issue: acts of violence are becoming more common, even without any clear ideology or motive," said Jon Lewis, a research fellow at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University.

Agencies and Xinhua contributed to this story.

shiguang@chinadailyusa.com