Hours after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at a college in Utah on Wednesday, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek issued an order that all public building flags be flown half-staff the following days.
Kotek’s order lasts until sunset on Sunday, matching a federal proclamation by President Donald Trump.
“I offer my deepest condolences to Mr. Kirk’s family. This attack is inexcusable. Violence has absolutely no place in our democracy. America is better than this,” Kotek said in a statement.
Earlier Wednesday, Kotek had already ordered all flags to be flown half-staff until sunset Thursday to mark the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks.
Kirk, 31, died after being shot in the neck while speaking at Utah Valley University. The event was set to be the first stop on Kirk’s planned “American Comeback Tour.”
Kirk founded Turning Point USA, a nonprofit that aims to sway young people to the conservative movement and which had been considered integral to President Donald Trump’s re-election. A Turning Point USA spokesperson confirmed Kirk’s death Wednesday.
In addition to Kotek, several Oregon and Washington officials joined a chorus of lawmakers condemning Kirk’s killing.
U.S. senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Oregon House Republican Leader Christine Drazan all swiftly denounced the shooting. Drazan, a Republican from Canby, called the killing an assassination.
“Any extremist who has called for violent action against their political opponents should be ashamed of what they have brought on our country,” Drazan wrote in a statement. “Violence and hatred must end.”
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said on social media Wednesday afternoon that he condemned the killing “in the strongest terms.” U.S. Rep. Cliff Bentz, Oregon’s sole Republican in the House, added that he was praying for Kirk’s family.
“Charlie was a passionate voice and a leader for the conservative movement,” Bentz said in a statement.
Shortly after the shooting, FBI Director Kash Patel said on social media that a person of interest was in custody. But around 5 p.m., Patel stated that “the subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement.”
The suspected shooter remains at large as of Thursday morning. FBI officials speaking at a press conference Thursday said they are searching for a “college-age” person who used a high-power rifle to shoot Kirk from a nearby building. Law enforcement said the shooter arrived on the Utah campus about 30 minutes before the killing, and jumped off a building after the shooting. The person then fled into a wooded area, which the law enforcement searched.
When asked Thursday if there was danger to the community, FBI officials said they believe the attack on Kirk was a targeted event.
The killing comes amid a spate of political violence in the U.S. Two Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota state government were shot in June, with one dying alongside her husband. Trump also faced two assassination attempts while campaigning last summer.
Jeff Helfrich, a Republican lawmaker from Hood River, called Kirk’s shooting an act of terrorism.
“He leaves behind a grieving wife and two children who no longer have a husband and father — all because a coward thought bullets were a way to win that conversation,” said Helfrich, a veteran and decorated retired police sergeant.
“I’ve seen what violence does to communities,” Helfrich added. “Violence isn’t debate — it’s surrender. It’s what happens when we forget we’re neighbors, not enemies.”
Turning Point USA has multiple chapters listed throughout the Northwest, some covering specific college campuses and others covering entire geographic regions. Representatives from those chapters directed comments to Turning Point USA’s national spokespeople.
Following confirmation of Kirk’s death Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum posted to social media: “Political violence has no place in this country. This is not how we settle our differences. I am praying for his family and loved ones.”
Nathan Soltz, head of the Democratic Party of Oregon, said in a statement that the killing shows an imperative to end gun violence in the U.S.
“No matter how abhorrent we may find someone’s views, and no matter how vehemently we may disagree with them, violence is simply not the way,” Soltz said.
OPB’s Bryce Dole contributed to this report.
This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.