A Single Shot What Horrifying Videos Reveal About Killing Of Charlie K

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 18, 2025, 12:39 AM

a single shot what horrifying videos reveal about killing of charlie k

FBI Director Kash Patel and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox held a news conference late Thursday in Utah relating to the investigation into the shooting of conservative commentator, Charlie Kirk. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox showed the public video of the person of interest in a black long-sleeve T-shirt featuring an American flag, an eagle and the words "Land of the Free, Home of the Brave." Law enforcement shared new video showing the alleged gunman fleeing from the scene after Charlie Kirk was shot during an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10.

During a news conference on Thursday, officials shared security video showing a person wearing dark clothing, running across the rooftop of a building and making his way down to the ground. The person is then seen running across a lawn and across the street. Freeze frame image from video showing alleged gunman fleeing scene following Charlie Kirk shooting. As of Saturday, Sept. 13, this blog is no longer being updated in real-time. Here is where you can find the latest updates on the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

‘Hey fascist, catch’: Authorities nab suspect in Charlie Kirk shooting, but motive still unclear OREM, Utah — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox on Friday announced the arrest of a 22-year-old suspect in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk after the man confessed to family members. “We got him!” Cox exclaimed at a morning news conference. ‘I love you baby,’ Erika Kirk breaks silence on husband’s killing The modern parade of digital gore is corrosive for society.

This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Yesterday afternoon, after hearing that the conservative activist and influencer Charlie Kirk had been shot, I turned, as I often do when news breaks, to social media. I didn’t have to go looking for it: I was immediately confronted with a five-second video in which Kirk, coarsely pixelated and sitting under a tent, crumples to the ground, microphone still in hand,... I saw the clip on X, as did millions of others, perhaps in part because of a feature that automatically plays videos for anyone scrolling through their feed. There are reasonable arguments to be made about the importance of society facing the truth of preventable violence—in recent years, those who argue for stricter gun regulations have said that Americans should be forced...

That Kirk, who became famous for participating in viral political debates, was gunned down on a university campus is a tragedy, period. And seeing such brutal violence up close can take a psychological toll on observers, the long-term effects of which are harder to gauge. It’s one thing to hear about a murder, or to read about it; it’s another to see it as it happened, over and over. Authorities say they have recovered a "high-powered, bolt-action rifle" used in the shooting in a wooded area. A footprint was also recovered. This liveblog has now ended — follow the latest updates here.

The assassination of Kirk, a prominent conservative activist, has raised alarms about the scourge of political violence in the United States, escalating anxieties about the safety of public figures on both sides of the... Kirk’s killing was the latest in a series of attacks and threats targeting a range of American political figures, from President Donald Trump and members of Congress to governors and judges. Kirk was not an elected official, though he wielded influence as the founder of conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA and was a close ally of the Trump administration. “I was not, in any way, surprised” by Kirk’s killing, said Michael Jensen, a researcher at the University of Maryland who tracks such violence in a domestic terrorism database. Jensen said he has seen an increase in attacks targeting what he characterizes as “government entities” — legislators and candidates, as well as officers carrying out immigration enforcement actions. • At large: A manhunt is still underway for the person who killed conservative political activist Charlie Kirk more than a day after his shooting stunned the US.

• New footage: Urging the public to help find the shooter, authorities shared a video they say shows the suspect jumping off a roof after the killing. And in footage obtained by CNN, geolocated to a neighborhood near the crime scene, a person matching the suspect’s description was seen walking down a street before the shooting. • The investigation: Audio captured near the podium where Kirk spoke suggests he was hit with a single supersonic gunshot, according to an expert. And phrases related to political issues were scrawled on a recovered rifle and ammunition, sources said. Our live coverage of Charlie Kirk’s killing has moved here. Authorities in Utah renewed calls for public help in finding Charlie Kirk’s killer on Thursday night, as the second day in the manhunt drew near a close.

Find this story in your account’s ‘Saved for Later’ section. On Wednesday afternoon, Turning Point USA founder and right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk was shot in the neck during a speaking event at Utah Valley University. Shortly after, graphic close-up videos of the attack began proliferating on X and TikTok. Like many whose feed it came across, the moment I registered what I was seeing, I wished I hadn’t. Hours later, Utah officials confirmed Kirk had died, meaning that everyone who watched the video had essentially just viewed a snuff film. It’s impossible to ignore the dark ironies inherent to Kirk’s killing, considering that mere moments before he was shot he was answering a question about transgender mass shooters in the U.S., a common fearmongering...

The mood on social media in response to Kirk’s assassination, however, has been grimmer than it might have been had so many people not seen the exact moment it occurred in all its gruesomeness. When Trump was shot in the ear last summer, people joked about “it” finally happening; when Luigi Mangione allegedly killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December, those on both ends of the ideological spectrum... After the company shared news of its CEO’s death on Facebook, the post received tens of thousands of “laugh” reactions. Some of that has occurred here too. The Hard Times, a satirical publication, published several pieces joking about the killing (“Anti-Vaxxer Finally Gets Shot,” “Incompetent Assassin Misses Largest Head on Planet”), while plenty of people on X and TikTok celebrated his... But most people on social media seem to be contending with what they have just witnessed, even if they remain ideologically opposed to its victim.

Leftist influencer Hasan Piker, who was set to debate Kirk later this month, urged his followers to stop making jokes, calling the shooting “terrifying.” Others reminded their own to “keep it in the group... Others cite the horrific nature of the videos on their feeds as particularly disturbing, blaming the platforms for their continued circulation. Graphic videos have always been a problem for social-media companies: Though they have armies of (usually outsourced, sometimes exploited) moderators and AI tools to weed out content that violates guidelines, at moments when news... I reached out to several platforms on their approach to handling the videos. Meta has age-gated the video to users 18 and over and is applying a “Mark As Sensitive” warning label to all footage of the shooting. YouTube said in a statement that it is “closely monitoring our platform and prominently elevating news content on the homepage, in search, and in recommendations to help people stay informed,” and added that it...

X, which fired its communications team when Elon Musk took over the site in 2022, has not seemed to respond; videos of the shooting still populate the site. Updated on: September 13, 2025 / 9:54 AM EDT / CBS News Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika, vowed Friday to continue her husband's conservative activism work, saying, the "movement my husband built will not die." She said Turning Point USA will still host its fall college campus tour, and its AmericaFest conference in December will still take place. "The evildoers responsible for my husband's assassination have no idea what they have done," she said. "They killed Charlie because he preached a message of patriotism, faith and of God's merciful love.

They should all know this: If you thought that my husband's mission was powerful before, you have no idea … what you just have unleashed across this entire country and this world." "The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry," she said. These were the updates on the killing of Charlie Kirk for Thursday, September 11. Trump ally and activist Charlie Kirk shot dead at Utah university By Nils Adler, Joseph Stepansky and Brian Osgood This live page is now closed.

A Single Shot What Horrifying Videos Reveal About Killing Of Charlie K

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