In an update issued on September 11, the FBI said that it had found a rifle believed to have been used to assassinate Kirk, with officials then releasing pictures and CCTV footage of the suspected shooter after the horrific incident had occurred.
The suspect has since been arrested and identified as Tyler Robinson, 22, from Utah.
Following Robinson’s arrest yesterday (September 12), Kirk’s wife, Erika, has spoken out for the first time and addressed the media personality’s death.
In a livestream conducted from Turning Point USA’s office in Phoenix, Arizona, Erika stood behind a podium beside the chair her husband used to sit in during his podcast filming.
She thanked first responders who ‘struggled heroically to save Charles’ life’, Kirk’s staff, and the White House, as well as Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, for bringing home Kirk’s coffin.
She also addressed President Donald Trump and his ‘amazing friendship’ with Kirk, saying: “Mr President, my husband loved you. And he knew that you loved him too.”
Erika went on to say that Kirk loved America, nature, and the Chicago Cubs baseball team, but ‘most of all’, he ‘loved his children’, adding: “And he loved me. With all his heart. And he made sure I knew that everyday.”
She said that she was at a loss at how to explain their father’s passing to them, as she said she told her daughter: “Baby, daddy loves you so much. Don’t you worry. He’s on a work trip with Jesus.”
The 36-year-old also addressed the ‘evil-doers responsible for my husband’s assassination’, though she didn’t specifically name Robinson.
Adding that Kirk was killed because he ‘preached a message of patriotism, faith and of God’s merciful love’, she said: “You have no idea the fire that you have ignited within this wife, the cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.
“They should all know this: if you thought that my husband’s mission was powerful before you have no idea, you have no idea what you just have unleashed across this entire country and this world.”
Erika vowed to keep her husband’s work going by continuing his campus tour, ‘The American Come Back Tour’, which he’d started at UVUV, radio show, and his podcast.
“Our campus tour this fall will continue,” she said. “There will be even more tours in the years to come.”
Addressing her husband directly, Ms Kirk said she would ‘never let your legacy die’.
“In a world filled with chaos, doubt and uncertainty, my husband’s voice will remain and it will ring out louder and more clearly than ever and his wisdom will endure.” she continued.
Kirk is survived by his wife Erika, a former Miss Arizona USA, whom he wed in 2021. The couple shared two children: a one-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter.
While the couple documented their lives on social media, they have never revealed the faces or names of their kids.
In the hours leading up to Kirk’s passing, Erika shared an eerie post to social media. It read: “Psalm 46:1 – God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”
If you or someone you know has been affected by gun violence, please find more information and support via Survivors Empowered on their website.