Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was fatally shot on Wednesday at an event at a Utah college.

Kirk was a top podcaster, culture warrior, and ally of President Donald Trump. He led an effort to remake the GOP’s get-out-the-vote effort in the 2024 election based on the theory that thousands of Trump supporters rarely vote but could be persuaded to vote.

His killing is the latest example of political violence in the U.S., spanning a range of political ideologies and affecting both major political parties.

Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by Turning Point USA at Utah Valley University when authorities said the shooter fired from a roof.

Videos posted to social media show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent. A single shot rings out, and Kirk reaches up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck.

Utah Valley is the state's largest public university with an enrollment of 47,000. It's about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of the state capital of Salt Lake City.

The shooter targeted one person, said Beau Mason, the commissioner of the state Department of Public Safety.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called the killing a “political assassination.”

A “person of interest” was in custody Wednesday evening, Cox said, though no charges were immediately announced. Officials had no information indicating a second person was involved, the governor said.