Law enforcement officers work at Utah Valley University, where US right-wing activist and commentator, Charlie Kirk, was shot during an event in Orem, Utah, US, September 10, 2025. Photo: IC

US President Donald Trump has ordered the national flag to be flown at half-staff in honor of Charlie Kirk, a political ally of Trump and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, who died after being shot in the neck on Wednesday during an event at Utah Valley University, media reported.

Chinese analysts said that the shooting reflects intensified political violence in the US. Under the influence of partisan struggles, they noted that solutions to gun violence still remain out of reach.

Trump expressed his “grief and anger” over the killing of Kirk and blamed rhetoric from the “radical left” in a direct-to-camera video from the Oval Office, CNN reported.

“This is a dark moment for America,” the president said in the video, per CNN. Trump also said, “This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now. My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity.”

Vice President JD Vance paid on Wednesday a heartfelt tribute on X to his “true friend” Kirk. He plans to travel to Utah Thursday, according to a source familiar with his plans, per CNN.

According to the BBC, Kirk, 31, was one of the highest profile conservative activists and media personalities in the US and a trusted ally of Trump. 

The Atlantic described Kirk as “Trump’s envoy to a new generation,” saying that “he was a frequent and welcome presence at the White House and at Trump’s private Mar-a-Lago club. And his conservative youth organization, Turning Point USA, helped elect Trump in 2024.”

No suspect was in custody late Wednesday local time, though authorities were searching for a new person of interest, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the matter who was not authorized to discuss the situation by name and spoke on condition of anonymity, AP News reported.

The FBI, which is working with local and state law enforcement in Utah to investigate the shooting, is urging anyone with information, photos or videos related to the incident to share files through an online form, the agency said on X.

The incident was a “targeted attack,” Utah’s Department of Public Safety said, with the suspect believed to have fired the fatal shot from the roof of a building to the courtyard where Kirk was addressing a large crowd, media reported on Thursday.

Concerns over political and gun violence

According to Newsweek, from Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson to former Vice President Kamala Harris and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, top officials on both the right and left issued swift statements denouncing the attack and calling for de-escalation.

The report by AP News noted that the circumstances of the shooting drew renewed attention to an escalating threat of political violence in the US that in the last several years has cut across the ideological spectrum. 

“The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive,” the AP said. 

The Kirk shooting also comes 14 months after Trump himself, then a candidate for US president, came within inches of being killed by a would-be assassin’s bullet in Butler, Pennsylvania. Trump faced another apparent attempt on his life just months later, The Hill reported.

These shootings in the US are no longer limited to isolated or extreme incidents like past school shootings targeting specific groups, such as young people. Instead, they are increasingly evolving into retaliatory actions or acts of political violence directed at both political parties or specific political figures, Zhu Ying, a professor at the Southwest University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times on Thursday.

Echoing Zhu, Jia Chunyang, research fellow at Development Research Center of the State Council, citing Trump’s deployment of the National Guard soldiers to Washington, DC, said that within the context of the bipartisan politics in the US, the political landscape has become increasingly polarized and even violent in the country.

Politico on Wednesday also reported that “It’s become a macabre American ritual: a violent attack against a political figure, followed by condemnations, calls for introspection and a vow to prevent it from happening again.” 

Kirk has shown right-wing activist’s stances on opposing gun control previously. A few months ago, Kirk said: “It’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment,” the BBC reported.

US gun control legislation remains stalled due to partisan disputes and the influence of interest groups like the National Rifle Association, Zhu said.

Whenever a mass shooting or politically motivated gun violence occurs, politicians often call for stricter gun control measures. However, the actual implementation of these measures is hampered by the deep-seated distrust many Americans have towards their government, making gun control in the US both a constitutional and a social challenge, Zhu added.

Also on Wednesday, a boy opened fire with a handgun at a high school near Denver, Colorado, wounding two students, before fatally shooting himself, CBS reported.

The two shootings on Wednesday came less than a month after Trump issued a proclamation ordering the US flag to be flown at half-staff following a shooting in Minneapolis on August 27 during a school Mass that left two students dead and 21 other people hurt, according to another CBS report.

While both parties in the US expressed concern over the shooting incident, differences remain in the focus and approach to handling the matter, Jia said, adding that the existing disagreements will undoubtedly become ammunition for mutual attacks.