Charlie Kirk speaks on stage at America Fest 2024, in Phoenix, Arizona, on December 22, 2024. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images)
PHOENIX - A casket carrying the body of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk was flown back to Phoenix on Sept. 11.
The backstory:
Kirk, who a founder of Turning Point USA, died after he was shot while speaking at a Utah Valley University event in Orem, Utah.
Graphic video posted to social media shows Kirk on stage, sitting in a chair, talking into a microphone. A single gunshot was heard and Kirk's head thrust back as he fell. People started screaming and running away, the video shows.
Law enforcement initially arrested George Zinn, who was later released and charged with obstruction by the Utah Valley University police, according to a Utah Department of Public Safety news release.
A second suspect, Zacharia Qureshi, was taken into custody and released after being interviewed.
"There are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals. There is an ongoing investigation and manhunt for the shooter," officials with Utah DPS said.
Local perspective:
Air Force Two, which carried Kirk's remains, landed at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport during the afternoon hours of Thursday.
Kirk's wife, Erika, was seen walking off the plane holding hands with Second Lady Usha Vance, while Vice President JD Vance followed right behind. Sortly afterwards, Kirk's casket was carried off Air Force Two.
There was silence when Air Force Two landed, and a crowd of about a couple of hundred people stood at the airport, as they watch the slain right-wing activist come home.
"I just think it's a very sad day for our country," said Lisa Smith. "It was just very – it's just hard to believe. hard to believe."
"You don't have to be a supporter of him," said Thomas Gateley. "Regardless of how you feel about him, he doesn't deserve what happened, and I think it's sad that now in the future, people are going to be concerned on, ‘hey, can I speak my mind without something bad happening?’ That's not who we are as a country."
The casket was subsequently taken to Hansen Mortuary in Phoenix.