In an emotional video released on X (formerly Twitter), Christian author Frank Turek revealed exactly what happened in the minutes following the fatal shooting.
Detailing their close relationship, Turek said: “I have three sons; my fourth son is older than Charlie, but Charlie was my fourth son.”
“So when he was hit … if your son got hit, what would you do?
“If there were any way I could save him, to do something, I would.”
After a 33-hour manhunt, the FBI were able to identify the alleged killer as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, a Utah resident.
He appeared in court on Tuesday (September 16), via video link from his prison cell in Utah County Jail, where he is being held in a special housing unit.
Turek explained how Kirk was loaded into an SUV by his security team just seconds after being struck by the fatal bullet.
“They got him in the side of the car, an SUV. We took over. I’m on the other side.
“I run around the back gate and jump in.
“Apparently somebody fell out of the car.
“Then I grabbed the thing and closed it, and there’s five of us in the car now.”
Inside the car, he noted that Kirk was laid out right in front of him, as they rushed the 31-year-old to hospital.
“We drove four miles, all the way to the hospital.
“Meanwhile, my son-in-law Dan, Brian, and Rick, they love Charlie, were much calmer.
“They’re just carrying out calmly, swiftly, exactly what they were trying to do.”
He recalled praying out loud saying: “Come on, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go.”
But all five people in the car were aware that Kirk was no longer with them.
“Charlie wasn’t there. His eyes were fixed.
“He wasn’t looking at me. He was looking past me right into eternity.
“He was with Jesus already.”
When they arrived at the hospital, he revealed that doctors did manage to restore a faint pulse.
“They did get a pulse back, we were praying for a miracle,” Turek said.
“The doctor said, ‘We got a pulse because Charlie was a very healthy man.
“Twenty or thirty minutes later, the surgeon came out and said he was dead.”
Afterwards, the close friend revealed that he was told Kirk felt no pain throughout the ordeal.
Robinson, the suspect, was presented with seven charges during his first court appearance earlier this week.