Charlie Kirk shooting witnesses describe lax security measures at event [View all]

Source: NBC News

Sept. 10, 2025, 5:08 PM EDT / Updated Sept. 10, 2025, 7:27 PM EDT


Justin Hickens says he was standing about 20 yards from Charlie Kirk as the influential conservative activist addressed a large crowd at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Then, in the middle of Kirk’s remarks, Hickens heard "a big loud shot.” “I saw a bunch of blood come out of Charlie," Hickens told NBC News’ Tom Llamas. "I saw his body kind of kick back and go limp, and everybody dropped to the ground.”

When people realized Kirk had been shot, they started running from the outdoor pavilion area, some knocking over barricades as they fled, Hickens said. Hickens is one of scores of people who had gathered to see Kirk, a leading conservative voice and prominent ally of President Donald Trump and who regularly held events on high school and college campuses.

In videos and images posted on social media, attendees can be heard yelling and scrambling for safety. In interviews, students described hearing a booming “pop” noise and seeing a bloodied Kirk fall back in his chair. Kirk later died at a hospital. He was 31. The shooter remained at large Wednesday night.

During a news conference hours after the shooting, UVU Police Chief Jeff Long said six police officers were at the event, which had about 3,000 attendees. There were "some plainclothes police officers that were in the crowd as well," he said. "We train for these things, and you think you have things covered, and these things, unfortunately, they happen," he said. "You try to get your bases covered, and unfortunately, today we didn't. Because of that, we had this tragic incident."

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/charlie-kirk-shooting-witnesses-describe-lax-security-measures-event-rcna230464