I saw the bullet hit Charlie Kirk
I saw the bullet hit Charlie Kirk, and I saw him close his eyes and slump.
I am a reporter for the Deseret News, based out of Salt Lake City. I was sent down to Utah Valley University yesterday morning to cover Charlie Kirk’s Prove Me Wrong tour.
At around 11a.m., my friend and fellow reporter Emma Pitts and I walked from the campus library to the outdoor amphitheater with tickets in hand, but there was no need. There was no one scanning tickets; there were no bag-checkers – we just walked in with the other 3,000 people who attended. We were later informed that only six officers total had been assigned to the event.
The atmosphere was rowdy. We walked down the grass and cement steps to the center, where the stage was, and we talked to several UVU students proudly holding a cardboard cutout of Trump. One freshman girl told us she was at the debate because she felt Kirk had brought on the dawn of the new conservative generation. Another older couple near us was there with their granddaughter.
When Kirk finally arrived, we could see him talking to the university’s Turning Point USA chapter in the parking lot behind the stage. After a couple of minutes with them, Kirk emerged and started throwing hats into the crowd.
He made no introductory speech; he went straight into the debate. The first debater came and went without a hitch. The second participant asked him how many mass shooters in American history had been transgender. Kirk responded, “Too many.” Then the questioner spoke for a moment more and followed up, “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last ten years?”
Before Kirk could answer, what sounded like a firecracker popped in the air. I watched him fall from his chair, and for a second, everyone stopped. Emma and I dropped to the ground, and she told me we needed to pray. She asked God to bless Charlie Kirk and protect us.
Then people started to run, so we did too. At this point, I believed there was a real possibility I would be shot in the back as I ran, but as footage now shows, the killer was running too – just on the roof.
We sprinted and ducked – and ironically, the first door I flung open was the university’s mental-health office. Under the receptionist’s desk in the corner we went, and we both cried.
Then I looked at my phone. The first thing I noticed was that I was still recording audio. It had only been two minutes and 50 seconds since the beginning of the second debater’s question.
Charlie Kirk has two children: a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son.
His killer has neither been identified nor found.