Charlie Kirk, an influential conservative commentator and founder of the youth activist group Turning Point USA, was shot at an event he was hosting at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

A video posted online of the event shows Kirk speaking to a crowd of people as a shot rings out. Kirk is thrown backwards by the shot, which appeared to hit his neck, before the crowd disperses in panic.

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Kirk, a father of two, was rushed to the hospital following the shooting. A law enforcement official described his condition as critical, according to the Associated Press.

A statement released by the university said a “single shot was fired on campus toward a visiting speaker. Police are investigating now, suspect in custody.” A university spokeswoman later told the New York Times that police had determined the person detained earlier was not the shooter, and that no suspect was currently in custody.

Read more: Meet Charlie Kirk, the Conservative Activist Who Is a Key Figure in Trump’s Campaign

Kirk, a close ally of Donald Trump whose youth activist group is estimated to have raised tens of millions of dollars for the president’s campaigns, was at the university in Orem, Utah, for an event dubbed the “American Comeback Tour.”

“WE. ARE. SO. BACK,” Kirk wrote on X shortly before the shots were reported. “Utah Valley University is FIRED UP and READY for the first stop back on the American Comeback Tour.”

President Trump called for prayers for Kirk in a statement posted soon after the shooting.

“We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot. A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!” he wrote on Truth Social.

FBI Director Kash Patel said that the agency “was closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.”

“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,” he wrote in a post on X.

Mike Lee, Republican Senator from Utah, posted on X following the incident: “I am tracking the situation at Utah Valley University closely. Please join me in praying for Charlie Kirk and the students gathered there.”

Condemnation of the shooting came in from across the political spectrum.

Kamala Harris, the former vice president, said she was “deeply disturbed” by the shooting of Kirk. “I condemn this act, and we all must work together to ensure this does not lead to more violence.”

Gavin Newsom, the Democratic governor of California, described the attack on Kirk as “disgusting, vile and reprehensible.”

Gabrielle Giffords, the former Arizona congresswoman who was nearly killed in a 2011 assassination attempt, said she was “horrified” by the shooting. “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 on social media.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson called the shooting “detestable” and called for prayers. “Political violence has become all too common in American society. This is not who we are. It violates the core principles of our country,” he told reporters.

Kirk founded Turning Point USA in 2012, and the group has since turned him into one of the most influential conservative activists in the country. The youth-focused organization aims to “identity, educate, train and organize students to promote the principles of fiscal responsibility, free markets and limited government,” according to its website. Based in Arizona, it claims to be active on more than 3,500 college campuses.

Turning Point USA has become a fundraising and organizational juggernaut for Trump in recent years, and was influential in his 2024 presidential campaign.

“Charlie Kirk is helping. He’s got his army of young people. These are young patriots,” Trump said while speaking at the Turning Point Action Conference in Detroit in June last year.

Kirk has gained an audience in recent years for his right-wing provocateur persona. He is well known on YouTube for videos of his combative debates with college students across the country, during which he stakes out a hardline conservative position and encourages challengers to face him in a segment he calls “Prove Me Wrong.” Kirk was reportedly sitting at what he calls the “Prove Me Wrong Table” when he was shot.

Kirk is also a prolific podcaster. The Charlie Kirk Show, which has recorded over 750 episodes and has been ranked in the top 10 of Apple podcasts, is known for conservative takes on politics.

This is a developing story.