Trump asks for ‘prayers’ for Charlie Kirk after shooting at Utah university
Donald Trump has posted on Truth Social about the shooting at Utah Valley University. “We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!,” the president wrote.
Key events
We’re also hearing from several leading Democrats across the country, condemning the shooting at Utah Valley University.
Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro said in a post on X that “the attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying and this growing type of unconscionable violence cannot be allowed in our society.” Shapiro added that “Political violence has no place in our county.”
Similarly, California governor Gavin Newsom described the shooting as “disgusting, vile, and reprehensible.”
On Capitol Hill, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said that he was “praying” for Kirk and his family, while echoing statements denouncing political violence.
Alongside the president, several members of his cabinet have offered their prayers to Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist and Turning Point founder, who was shot during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University.
Vice-president JD Vance asked his followers to “say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father”, and attorney general Pam Bondi wrote that “FBI and ATF agents are on the scene. PRAY FOR CHARLIE.”
Meanwhile, Kristi Noem, secretary of the Department for Homeland Security, said that she and her husband “are lifting up Charlie, Erika, and their family in our prayers right now”.
Defense secretary Pete Hegseth added that Kirk was “an incredible Christian, American, and human being”.
Utah governor ‘briefed by law enforcement’ on university shooting
Spencer Cox, Utah’s governor, said that he has been “briefed by law enforcement following the violence directed at Charlie Kirk during his visit to Utah Valley University today.”
Cox added that “those responsible will be held fully accountable,” and uged “Americans of every political persuasion” to condemn the shooting. He offered his prayers to Kirk, his family and all those affected.
Utah Valley University issues statement about shooting on campus
According to CNBC, a Utah Valley University spokesperson has issued a statement about the details of today’s shooting on campus:
What we know currently is that Charlie Kirk was about 20 minutes into his presentation, when we heard shots fired from a nearby building and to the best of our knowledge he was hit and taken with his security team away from the premises, and the courtyard was cleared.
Trump asks for ‘prayers’ for Charlie Kirk after shooting at Utah university
Donald Trump has posted on Truth Social about the shooting at Utah Valley University. “We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!,” the president wrote.
FBI ‘closely monitoring’ shooting at Utah Valley University
FBI director Kash Patel has said that his agency is “closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.”
In a post on X, Patel said: “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.”
The Guardian has not received independent confirmation on Kirk’s status yet.
Utah Valley University confirms shots fired on campus
The Utah Valley University police have confirmed to my colleague, Anna Betts, that shots were fired on campus.
According to Deseret News, a local media outlet based in Salt Lake City, bystanders report seeing Kirk shot near his neck during a Q&A with students.
They also report that “a suspect is in custody, according to a UVU alert sent to students. The campus is on lockdown.”
Unconfirmed reports of shooting at Utah Valley University
We are receiving unconfirmed reports of a shooting at the Utah Valley University, at an event where conservative activist Charlie Kirk was speaking.
The Guardian is seeking to independently confirm reports that Kirk has been shot. Utah senator Mike Lee, a Republican, said that he was “tracking the situation” closely. “Please join me in praying for Charlie Kirk and the students gathered there,” he added in his post on X.
John Bolton, the former ambassador and national security adviser during Donald Trump’s first term in office, has said that “Putin has acted like he has a free hand since the Alaska summit.”
Referring to the bilateral meeting last month, which didn’t yield a ceasefire deal, Bolton added that the Kremlin leader has “ignored any further conversation on a ceasefire, the Russian military is expanding its operations, and he’s received the political support of his friends Xi Jinping, Narendra Modi, and Kim Jong-un”.
A reminder, Bolton’s home and office were raided by the FBI in August.
Ex-FBI officials claim they were fired for investigating Trump in new lawsuit
Sam Levine
Three former senior FBI officials sued its director, Kash Patel, and the federal government on Wednesday for wrongful termination, saying there had been widespread unlawful political influence at the bureau.
The three officials, Brian Driscoll Jr, Steven Jensen and Spencer Evans, filed the lawsuit in federal court in Washington DC, asking a judge to declare their firings were illegal, reinstate them, and award them backpay.
The complaint details an episode in which Patel allegedly told Driscoll he had been instructed by the White House to fire any agent who worked on an investigation of Donald Trump.
“Patel explained that he had to fire the people his superiors told him to fire, because his ability to keep his own job depended on the removal of the agents who worked on cases involving the president,” the complaint says. Patel explained that there was nothing he or Driscoll could do to stop these or any other firings, because “the FBI tried to put the president in jail and he hasn’t forgotten it”.
The complaint also alleges Emil Bove, a staunch Trump ally and former top justice department official, asked Driscoll to compile a list of agents who worked on the investigation into the January 6 attack on the US capitol. When Driscoll said that the mass firing of those agents would not comply with FBI protocol and endanger national security, Bove said they would be referred to the justice department for a misconduct review.
DNC launches billboard featuring Trump’s alleged ‘birthday note’ to Epstein
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) has launched a mobile billboard to circle the White House today. It features a picture of the president and Jeffrey Epstein alongside Trump’s alleged birthday note to the late sex-offender, as part of his 50th birthday scrapbook.
“Donald Trump is hiding something, and Republicans in Congress are covering for him. Trump originally clamored to release the Epstein Files, but now that he knows he’s named in them, he calls them a hoax,” said DNC chair Ken Martin.
A reminder that Trump has insisted that he didn’t sign the note, and called his reported contribution to the album a “dead issue” on Tuesday.
Labor department inspector general announces BLS investigation
The office of the labor department’s inspector general – an independent watchdog – said that it was launching a “review” of “the challenges that Bureau of Labor Statistics encounters collecting and reporting closely watched economic data”.
The letter announcing the investigation was sent to acting BLS commissioner William Wiatrowski by the assistant inspector general of the labor department, Laura Nicolosi. It comes after yesterday’s landmark revision from the BLS, which found that job growth was overestimated between April 2024 and March 2025. There were actually 911,000 fewer jobs, according to the latest report.
For context, Donald Trump claimed, baselessly, that job report numbers were being rigged, and fired commissioner Erika McEntarfer last month. The revision, known as “benchmarking” is a standard, annual process from BLS.
