On Truth Social, he said: “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.
“He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
Footage shows the conservative commentator discussing gun violence only moments before he was shot.
One of the audience members during the rally stepped up to a microphone to debate him on the topic of mass shootings.
They asked: “Do you know many transgender Americans have been shooters over the last 10 years?”
This topic has become more prevalent following the Catholic Church shooting in Minneapolis on August 27, where the suspect was identified as a transgender person.
Kirk replied ‘too many’ before the crowd roared.
The same audience member answered that the number was five and followed up by asking how many mass shooters there had been in America over the last 10 years.
Kirk’s final words were before being shot was his response to this question. He said: “Counting or not counting gang violence?”
A gun shot then rang out in the crowd, with a bullet striking Kirk in the neck.
Following the shooting, authorities confirmed that they had a suspect in custody but did not reveal whether they believed this person to be the shooter.
This person has since been released, according to the FBI.
FBI Director Kash Patel took to Twitter and said: “The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency.”
Another person who was arrested has been released as officials said they have ‘no current ties’ to the shooting.
In a video shared on Truth Social, President Trump said he was ‘filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk’.
Meanwhile, Utah Governor Spencer Cox called the shooting a ‘political assassination’.
Investigators with the FBI and the Utah Department of Public Safety said: “The shooting is believed to be a targeted attack.
“The shooter is believed to have fired from the roof of a building down to the location of the public event in the student courtyard.
“Any additional clarifications cannot be provided to protect the integrity of our investigation.”