September 10, 2025, started like any other campus tour day for Turning Point USA. Charlie Kirk stood behind a podium at Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem, Utah. He was doing what he always did: debating students, leaning into the microphone, and recording content for his massive digital audience.
Then a single "pop" changed everything.
If you’ve been searching for where was charlie.kirk shot, the short answer is the neck. But the location of the actual event—the physical place where the security perimeter failed—was the outdoor courtyard of UVU, specifically during an open-air Q&A session. It happened in broad daylight, around 12:23 p.m. Mountain Time.
The Exact Location: Utah Valley University
The shooting didn't happen in a dark alley or a private office. It happened on a public university campus. Kirk was at the Losee Center at Utah Valley University. It’s a busy spot, usually filled with students rushing between classes. On that Wednesday, however, it was packed with around 3,000 people. Some were fans; others were there to protest.
The shooter wasn't in the crowd.
Investigators later confirmed the shot came from the rooftop of a nearby campus building. The gunman had positioned himself approximately 142 yards away. That’s roughly the length of one and a half football fields. From that vantage point, he had a clear line of sight over the crowd and directly at the podium where Kirk was answering a question about mass shooting statistics.
What Really Happened in Orem?
It’s kinda haunting to look back at the footage now. Kirk was in the middle of a back-and-forth with a student named Hunter Kozak. Kozak asked about mass shooters in America. Kirk’s last words were a clarifying question: "Counting or not counting gang violence?"
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Right after Kozak said "Great," the bullet struck.
Witnesses, including Deseret News reporter Emma Pitts, described a scene of immediate, grisly chaos. "I just saw so much blood come out of the left side of Charlie's neck," she told reporters later. Kirk went limp almost instantly. Security personnel scrambled. Six men carried him to a black SUV, which sped off toward Timpanogos Regional Hospital in Orem.
He was pronounced dead later that afternoon.
The world found out through a Truth Social post by Donald Trump at 2:40 p.m. By then, the campus was already in total lockdown.
The Manhunt and the Suspect
For about 33 hours, the country was on edge. Who did it? Was there a second shooter? The FBI, led by Director Kash Patel, eventually tracked the suspect to a location about 250 miles southwest of the university.
The man arrested was Tyler James Robinson, a 22-year-old from Washington, Utah.
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Robinson wasn't some mysterious international assassin. He was a former pre-engineering student at Utah State University. He’d only spent one semester there back in 2021. According to court filings, he’d become radicalized in "dark corners of the internet," specifically deep-diving into Reddit and Discord communities.
Evidence Left Behind
- The Weapon: A Mauser bolt-action rifle, found wrapped in a dark towel in a wooded area near the campus.
- The Note: A message found under a keyboard in Robinson's home that read, "I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I'm going to take it."
- The Shell Casings: This is the part that gets really weird. Police found casings with inscriptions on them. One said "notices bulges OWO what's this?"—a reference to internet meme culture. Another said "Hey fascist! Catch!"
It was a strange, modern, and deeply disturbing trail of breadcrumbs.
Security Failures and Controversy
The question of where was charlie.kirk shot usually leads to a follow-up: How was he shot? Kirk had private security. There were police officers on site. So how did a 22-year-old get on a roof with a rifle?
Brian Harpole, the head of Kirk’s private security team, didn't hold back in his interview on "The Shawn Ryan Show." He claimed they had warned UVU police that the rooftops were a vulnerability. According to Harpole, the university promised to secure the elevated ground but failed to station anyone on the Losee Center roof.
The shooter basically just walked up a stairwell in an adjacent parking garage, crossed a railing, and crawled into position. It took him only a few minutes.
The Aftermath in 2026
We’re now months removed from the event, but the legal battle is just heating up in the Provo courthouse. Just today, January 16, 2026, Robinson's defense team is trying to disqualify the prosecutors. They’re claiming a conflict of interest because a deputy county attorney’s child was actually in the crowd when the shooting happened.
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The prosecution is still seeking the death penalty.
The fallout hasn't just been legal, though. It’s been social. In the weeks after the assassination, people were getting fired left and right for "celebrating" the death on social media. It sparked a massive debate about free speech and the "We Are Charlie" movement that emerged among his followers.
Honestly, the whole thing has left the country more polarized than ever. There were even wild conspiracy theories claiming the Mossad or the CIA were involved, mostly because the shooting happened the day before the anniversary of 9/11. None of that has been backed by any real evidence, but it shows how much people are struggling to make sense of a political assassination in the digital age.
What You Should Know Now
If you are following this case, keep an eye on the Utah County Attorney’s Office updates. The trial is expected to be one of the most-watched events of the year.
Key Takeaways:
- Location: The Losee Center courtyard at Utah Valley University, Orem.
- Date: September 10, 2025.
- Suspect: Tyler James Robinson, 22.
- Current Status: Robinson is in custody awaiting trial; prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
The best way to stay informed is to check official court transcripts or reputable news outlets like the Associated Press, as social media remains flooded with AI-generated "enhanced" photos and misinformation about the night of the shooting. Ensure any footage you watch is verified by the FBI, as several "viral" videos of the shooter have already been debunked as being filmed in Reno, Nevada, or other unrelated locations.