Charlie Kirk: Trump announces Presidential Medal of Freedom for activist shot dead in Utah
President Donald Trump announced on Thursday morning that Republican activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot at a college campus, will be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honour, US media has reported.
Speaking at a 9/11 memorial event, Trump said Kirk will be awarded with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest US civilian honour.
Kirk, a close ally of Donald Trump, was killed by a single shot fired from a rooftop while addressing hundreds of students at Utah Valley University, authorities said.
NOW – Trump to award Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom. pic.twitter.com/gMjg8Vkro2
— Disclose.tv (@disclosetv) September 11, 2025
The gunman escaped amid the chaos as students screamed and fled for safety. By early Thursday, federal, state and local agencies were still searching for the unidentified attacker and said they were handling “multiple active crime scenes.” Two people detained on Wednesday were later released after the FBI confirmed they had no connection to the shooting.
Trump earlier announced Kirk’s death on social media, calling him “great, and even legendary.” In a later video statement from the White House, he described Kirk as a “martyr for truth and freedom” and accused the “radical left” of fostering the climate that led to the assassination.
FBI recovers gun used in Charlie Kirk’s killing
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has said that it has recovered the ‘high-powered bolt action’ rifle that was used to kill Kirk. Speaking to the media, Utah DPS Commissioner Beau Mason said the rifle was recovered from a ‘wooded area’ and the forensic teams are examining it.
Mason also said the probe agency has the video footage of Kirk’s killer, who fled to a neighbourhood after killing Kirk. He added that the suspect “appears to be of college age”, and he “blended in” with the college population.
“We are confident we will be able to identify him,” the official said. “Investigators have collected footwear impression, a palmprint and forearm imprints for analysis.”
