US President Donald Trump has announced the death of Charlie Kirk. He was 31 years old.

You can read Trump's full statement below:

"The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead", President Donald Trump has posted on his Truth Social platform.

The 31-year-old was shot at a campus event in Utah on Wednesday afternoon.

Several witnesses have described the violence, and the discussion that preceded it.

One student described how Kirk had taken questions on religion, and LGBT issues.

It was while he was being asked about gun violence that he was shot, the student says.

Video taken by witnesses shows the rush to flee the scene after the shooting occurred.

According to officials, Kirk was shot from about 200 yards away, on the opposite side of the quad where he was speaking.

A university spokesperson says the person who was taken into custody after the shooting has since been released, BBC's US Partner CBS reports.

Sakshi Venkatraman
US reporter

Image source, Reuters

If you're just joining us, we're covering the shooting of conservative influencer and Trump ally Charlie Kirk at a college campus in Utah.

Here's what we know:

• Kirk was shot in the neck during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University
• A shot was fired at 12:20 local time as Kirk was taking a question from a student. Video shows him immediately collapse
• He is in "critical condition" and "it doesn't look good" his colleague told CBS News, BBC's US partner
• A suspect is reportedly in custody

• The university says one shot was fired from about 200 yards away (182m), and the campus has been closed for the day

What we don't know:

• Kirk's current condition and injuries
• Details of the suspect
• A motive for the shooting

Stick with us as we bring you the latest updates.

Warning: This post contains graphic descriptions of the shooting some readers may find distressing.

In videos circulating on social media of the event, Charlie Kirk can be seen sitting in a white gazebo addressing a crowd gathered at an event at Utah Valley University.

The tent features the words "The American Comeback Tour" - the name of his current speaking tour.

In one video, an audience member can be heard asking Kirk about mass shootings in America: “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?"

Holding a microphone, Kirk responds: "Counting or not counting gang violence?"

A loud gunshot is heard and Kirk appears to jolt backwards in his seat. Blood can be seen on his neck.

People in the crowd scream and start running from the area.

Details about exactly what happened today when Kirk was shot are still coming in, but we're hearing now that the commentator's wife and two children were at the university campus with him.

"Pray for [Kirk] his wife Erika, their two children, and all who were present at Utah Valley University," Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin posted on Twitter.

We have some more photos from Utah Valley University to share with you.

They show the chaos that broke out after Charlie Kirk was shot.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

US politicians are sharing their shock after the shooting of Charlie Kirk.

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, says she is praying for Kirk's recovery.

"Political violence has absolutely no place in our nation. All Americans should pray for Charlie Kirk’s recovery and hold the entire UVU community in our hearts as they endure the trauma of this gun violence," she wrote on X.

Former US representative Gabby Giffords also posted, condemning violent responses to political differences. In 2011, Giffords was shot in the head during a meeting with constituents in a grocery store parking lot. She survived, but resigned from office due to a brain injury.

"Democratic societies will always have political disagreements, but we must never allow America to become a country that confronts those disagreements with violence," she said.

We've just received our first image of Charlie Kirk speaking at the campus event in Utah this afternoon, before the shooting.

Image source, Reuters

A statement by the Utah Valley University sent to US media, including the New York Times and Fox News, says shots were fired from a building about 200 yards (182 metres) away.

"At about 12:20 shots were fired from a building about 200 yards from the speaker. To the best of our knowledge, the individual was hit and was taken away immediately by his security personnel," the statement from Ellen Trean, spokeswoman for Utah Valley University, said.

In another X post updating the university's 40,000-plus student body, the Utah Valley University Police reiterate that students should leave the campus.

"Campus closed, classes canceled until further notice," the post says. "Police are investigating. Leave campus immediately. Follow police instructions."

Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins has posted on social media that Charlie Kirk is "still with us".

"PLEASE KEEP PRAYING. Hearing he is in critical condition but still with us," she writes on X.

Charlie Kirk was shot in the neck, according to a representative from Turning Point USA.

"He was shot in the neck. He’s at the hospital. It doesn’t look good," chief marketing officer Marina Minas told the BBC's US partner CBS News.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox says he has been briefed on Kirk's shooting, saying the attacker will "be held fully accountable".

"Violence has no place in our public life. Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act," he wrote on X.

Mike Wendling
BBC News

Image source, Reuters

Charlie Kirk is one of the biggest conservative influencers in the US today.

To call him a firebrand would be somewhat understating the case - he's a staunch Trump loyalist who built a huge audience through his Turning Point organisation, which has a presence on hundreds of college campuses across the country.

Kirk and his band of young conservatives flood the zone through social media and podcasts, and his ability to draw crowds led to a key role in Donald Trump's MAGA movement.

Turning Point poured both money and people into swing states during last year's presidential election.

He's spoken at Republican conventions and last year Donald Trump repaid the favour by giving a big speech at a Turning Point conference in Arizona.

Kirk's evangelical Christian religion and family - he's married to a former Miss Arizona, with whom he has two children - are front and centre in his politics, and he's seen as both the future of conservative activism and a highly polarising figure.

Campus police have just posted an update on X about the shooting, confirming that Kirk was shot and that a suspect is in custody.

"Today at about 12:10 a shot was fired at the visiting speaker, Charlie Kirk. He was hit and taken from the location by his security. Campus police is investigating, a suspect is in custody," the post says.

BBC Verify has confirmed the authenticity of several videos of the shooting which have been posted online.

One video shows students crowded around a white tent emblazoned with the words, "THE AMERICAN COMEBACK" and "PROVE ME WRONG". Some students are watching the event from elevated structures nearby.

Charlie Kirk can be seen sitting alone under the tent with several others standing nearby.

As Kirk is speaking, a loud bang can be heard.

The video pans away. "Oh my God!" one person can be heard saying.

"Go! Run, run run!" another yells as those in the audience scatter.

A former US Congressman who was at the event with his daughter has told Fox News what happened when Kirk was shot.

"Everyone hit the deck" and "scattered", former US representative Jason Chaffetz says. He calls the violence "shocking".

"The shot came straight at him," Chaffetz says, adding he had talked to Kirk just before the event started.