Two days later, the FBI confirmed an alleged suspect in the shooting had been detained, identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.
Kirk leaves behind his wife and two young children, a one-year-old boy and three-year-old daughter.
Following the arrest, the widow took to his podcast in a livestream on Friday (September 12) where she addressed the tragedy and thanked first responders, Kirk’s staff and President Donald Trump.
Now, the 36-year-old has dropped an emotional tribute to her late husband on Instagram in a series of images and videos, including intimate moments by the side of his open casket.
Erika could be seen bowing her head over the coffin and kissing Kirk’s hands.
Through tears, she could be heard saying ‘I love you’ several times, followed by ‘God bless you.’
Another video shows Kirk’s casket being wheeled through a corridor and loaded into a hearse.
She then uploaded footage of an American flag blowing in the wind, presumably as the car headed towards Utah airport as in the following video, she could be seen breaking down before boarding the Air Force Two jet transporting Kirk back to Phoenix.
Erika was accompanied by Vice President JD Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance for the flight and could be seen leaning on Ms Vance as military personnel paid their respects to the sound of bagpipes.
Leaning on her Evangelical Christian beliefs, she wrote in the caption: “The world is evil.
“But our Savior. Our Lord. Our God. Не…Не is so good. I will never have the words. Ever.”
She added: “The sound of this widow weeping echos throughout this world like a battle cry.
“I have no idea what any of this means. But baby I know you do and so does our Lord.
“They have no idea what they just ignited within this wife. If they thought my husband’s mission was big now..you have no idea.”
In her livestream statement, Erika vowed to march on with her husband’s mission including his work on his campus tour, radio show and podcast.