His condition was listed as critical, The Associated Press reported Wednesday afternoon, and Fox News reported by 4:45 EST he had died from his wound.
President Trump himself announced Kirk's death. "The great, and even legendary, Charlie Kirk is dead," Trump posted on social media.
Trump's announcement was read live on Fox News by host Will Cain, who struggled to keep his composure while announcing his death.
A suspect was in custody minutes after the shooting, college officials said, but NBC News reported 40 minutes later local authorities have not made any arrests and a manhunt was underway.
A video posted to X, filmed far away, shows Kirk seated outside in his now-familiar tent talking to hundreds of students. A shot rings out and Kirk is seen slumping to his side. 
In a second video, recorded approximately 15 feet away, Kirk appears to be shot in the neck with a serious loss of blood.
Other video posted to X, from The Blaze, shows an middle-aged white man, who was identified as the possible shooter, in police custody.
Videos posted to social media show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogan “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong.” A single shot rings out and Kirk can be seen reaching for his neck with his right hand.
Kirk, 31, was a vocal fan of President Trump and often debates students on hot-button topics such as politics, culture, and religion.
Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012, at the age of 18, to create a conservative student organization.
Alex McFarland of Truth for a New Generation shared a stage with Kirk just two weeks ago. He told AFN the shooting is an example of the only defense the Left has against life and logic.
"The Democrats, and they are the party of death, the Democrats do not believe in the sacredness of human life, and since they are unable to argue issues on their own merits, and since their worldview positions are vacuous and destructive, the Democrats and their minions resort to all that the desperate have done throughout history which is try to silence and kill the opponent."
Political rhetoric leads to such violence, AFA Vice President Walker Wildmon said.
"This is in the midst of and following years of what I would call radical talking points of the modern-day Left and Democrats," he said. "What I'm talking about is calling conservatives and Republican voters a threat to democracy, wanting to take people's rights away, plunge this back into the 1800s.
"When you continually talk about your political opponent in such radical and polarizing terms, then you begin to radicalize an entire block of your voting base."
Calls for prayer for Kirk began to immediately flow along social media including from Trump on Truth Social writing, "We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!."
There were also quick bipartisan calls condemning the violence.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat and potential national candidate, said, “We must speak with moral clarity. The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying and this growing type of unconscionable violence cannot be allowed in our society.”
Republican Senate Leader John Thune of South Dakota posted: “There is no place in our country for political violence. Period, full stop.”
Liberal cable outlets blamed Kirk
After the shooting, liberal cable news networks CNN and MSNBC took turns blaming Kirk and Trump. A guest on CNN blamed Utah's loose gun laws.
"I always go back to hateful thoughts lead to hateful words, which then lead to hateful actions," former GOP strategist Matthew Dowd, now an MSNBC contributor, opined.
Joy Reid, the former MSNBC host, similarly blamed Rep. Steve Scalise after he escaped an assassin's bullet in 2017. While the congressman was recovering in the hospital, Reid told viewers it was fair to discuss his political beliefs.
Back on his Fox News show, Cain was visibly angry at the death of the popular conservative activist.
"I don’t know what’s left for us as a country to discuss," Cain said, "when even a discussion and a debate over the issues results in violence that leads to the death of a good man in this country."
After news of Kirk's death, AFA spokesman Ed Vitagliano spoke for the Mississippi-based ministry. "Our hearts are broken at the news that Charlie Kirk has passed away. He was an extraordinary young man and a faithful Christian, a wonderful family man, and someone that we believe God was using to help turn out nation back to righteousness and to our founding principles."
With nearly 47,000 students, Utah Valley University has grown to become the largest public university in Utah.
It’s located about 40 miles (65 miles) south of Salt Lake City, the state capital, and was founded in 1941 as a vocation school. From those beginnings, its enrollment has jumped five-fold over the past three decades.
The college is not affiliated or owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known widely as the Mormon church.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
