Top Story with Tom Llamas - Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Episode Date: September 11, 2025

Breaking tonight, conservative activist Charlie Kirk assassinated while speaking on a college campus. The conservative commentator shot in front of a large crowd at Utah Valley University. Witnesses describing the horrific scene, students running for cover as gunfire rang out. Kirk answering questions about mass shootings when he was suddenly struck by a bullet. Officials saying a person of interest is in custody, the late details. and Kirk's assassination sending shockwaves across the country. Politicians from both parties condemning the attack, how the youth leader with deep roots in the MAGA movement

helped get President Trump elected, and the latest act of political violence on U.S. soil calling into question the safety of political leaders all across this country. Also tonight, several students in critical condition after being shot at a high school in Colorado just down the road from Columbine, what we're learning. Plus new fears,

The war with Russia could be spanning beyond Ukraine. NATO shooting down Russian drones inside Poland. The chilling warnings from Poland's prime minister saying Europe is closer to war than any time since World War II. And in a moment, you'll hear from witnesses who were at the campus when Charlie Kirk was shot what they say happened during those terrifying moments. A special edition of Top Story starts right now. And good evening. I'm Kristen Welker in for Tom Yamis. We begin tonight with that breaking news out of Utah. Charlie Kirk, a giant of conservative media and an ally of President Trump killed by an assassin's bullet at a university event

in broad daylight with hundreds in attendance. The video too graphic and disturbing to show in its entirety, Kirk sitting before the crowd answering questions when witnesses say a single shot rang out. In the seconds that followed, a crowd rushing to help Kirk surrounding him under the tent. In the audience, the chaotic aftermath, the gathered crowds immediately scattering from the scene. Moments ago, Utah Governor Spencer Cox addressing the attack. Charlie Kirk was first and foremost a husband and a dad to two young children. He was also very much political.

involved, and that's why he was here on campus. And when someone takes the life of a person because of their ideas or their ideals, then that very constitutional foundation is threatened. Kirk energized the political right, a conservative commentator with an audience of millions. He was famous for engaging with his ideological opponents. He also became one of President Trump's most prominent supporters speaking at the Republican National Convention just last year and visiting the White House in May. It was President Trump who made the heartbreaking announcement on truth social, paying tribute to his friend, writing in part, quote, the great and even legendary Charlie Kirk is dead. Utah Valley University says the gunman fired from a building roughly 200 yards

away. Officials tonight confirming a person of interest is in custody. And as America reckons with yet another searing episode of political violence in this country. Questions tonight about the security measures at that event could more have been done to protect him. We will speak with several people who witnessed the shooting firsthand. But first, we want to go to Liz Kreutz, who starts us off tonight. Hundreds of people were there at Utah Valley University to see conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who had just thrown hats to the cheering crowd. And posted on X, we are so back, touting the first stop on what he called the American Comeback Tour, the 31-year-old conservative star who rallied young people behind President Trump. He just started talking there under that white

tent when witnesses say one shot rang out. The shooting was captured on video and is too disturbing to show. Immediately, crowds started running for cover. We just heard an immediate pop. We're like, what's going on here? And then after that pop, we just saw him in his neck. We saw him fall back. I was the last one standing because I couldn't quite believe I thought maybe it was a stunt. I'm still shaking and I've still crying. I love Charlie Kirk. He's awesome. And I prayed for him and his family.

Brendan says he was just 15 feet away. He says Kirk was answering audience questions. He had just been asked about mass shootings when the shot was fired. He was actually just talking about mass shootings too, which is crazy with the trans shooting. that just happened recently with the trans shooter. And as soon as he got done answering the question, we heard a loud pop. He got hit in the left side of his neck and dropped. We all dropped.

His security dragged him out of there. And we just ran. I was more angry, I would say, than terrified. You know, we hear all the time that we're the problem. We're the violent ones. We're the issue. And yet this is the second mass like shooting attempt on a political figure. First, Donald Trump.

Now we have Charlie Kirk. Kim had come to see Kirk with her daughter Bentley. was scary because you just you don't know if it's real if it's not but you just have to go with your gut and and get out of there former congressman jason chavits was also there with his family people came out to hear the dialogue the back and forth ask him anything that's what turning point charlie kirk's all about ask him anything in the midst of that um the shot rang out he says everyone started running and screaming and i just hope and pray that somehow some way he survives this. But just before five this afternoon, President Trump posting the tragic news. The great and even

legendary Charlie Kirk is dead. No one understood or had the heart of the youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by all, especially me, and now he is no longer with us. Melania and my sympathies go out to his beautiful wife, Erica, and family. Charlie, we love you. In the house, a moment of silence. I'm just going to say, state the obvious here. This is detestable. What's happened. Political violence has become all too common in American society, and this is not who we are. Political violence must be called out, and it has to stop. The university says the gunman fired from a building 200 yards away. So many witnesses saying they saw no security at the event before the assassination. There's no checkpoints, nothing to get in here. Everyone was just able to walk in you. I'm like, I have my back back. I'm like, if I wanted to, I can just bring a gun with me.

Charlie Kirk survived by his wife and two young children. His organization, Turning Point USA, asking that everyone keep his family and loved ones in their prayers. It's so painful to look at those images. Charlie Kirk, just 31 years old, made a name for himself as a right-wing activist and founder of the conservative group, Turning Point USA, forming a close relationship with President Trump in recent years, using his large following to help get Mr. Trump elected. Here's a look at his career and his influence. Charlie Kirk's influence in the MAGA movement and the Trump administration was monumental, his power and influence extending from college campuses all the way to the White House.

Visiting it yesterday was very moving. Kirk was a guest at the White House back in May, sharing his experience on YouTube. I got to see the original copy of the Declaration of Independence. A close champion of the president, Kirk, was a constant presence at rallies, earning a speaking spot at the Republican convention. Donald Trump refuses to accept this fake, pathetic, mutilated version of the American dream. Kirk had built a following of millions of online supporters, energizing young people, helping President Trump's re-election. And I want to express my tremendous gratitude to Charlie Kirk. Charlie Kirk helped fund the conservative organization.

turning point USA in 2012, within years turning it into a major political force, raising hundreds of millions of dollars. His support of President Trump goes all the way back to Mr. Trump's campaign in 2016 when he helped him win the White House for the first time. Kirk then devoted his focus to getting more Republicans elected to office. Kirk built his own political empire by trying to win over liberal audiences on college campuses and his own podcast where he interviewed politicians from both parties. But it was President Trump who Kirk focused his energy on. Loyalty the president has always valued. I truly believe that President Trump, throughout these last couple of years, overcoming all these odds is one of the greatest

stories ever told. And let's just say thank you God for giving us Donald Trump and giving our country back. Now, incredibly, Charlie Kirk was just 18 years old when he founded Turning Point. USA. I spoke with a White House official tonight who said everyone there is just in a state of shock because they all, they all had close ties to Charlie Kirk. And I do want to go to NBC's senior White House correspondent Gabe Gutierrez, who has been following this from the White House. Gabe, I know you have been talking to officials there. The person I spoke with, you could just hear the devastation and the shock, quite frankly, in this person's voice. What have people there been telling you tonight. Yes, certainly, Kristen. I went back to the communications offices

here at the White House a short time after the news broke of this shooting. And information was still trickling in. And you can see in the faces of senior White House officials that they were absolutely devastated by this, trying to find out as much as they could as they could. But certainly, there's a profound sense of loss of devastation here at the White House. And it was highly unusual, Kristen, for the president of the United States to announce the death in such a high-profile shooting such as this. But that's what President Trump did several hours ago, calling Charlie Kirk legendary. And it's no surprise that he calls him legendary because the two were actually very close. Multiple members of the Trump family, including Donald Trump Jr., very close to Charlie Kirk.

It's such a young age. And he was such a part of the MAGA movement, basically, you know, getting so many young voters to come out and vote for President Trump in his bid for a second term. Now, we've been getting reaction from across the political spectrum, Kristen, both Republicans and Democrats. We've heard from several presidents, Obama, Biden, and just now we're getting a statement from President George W. Bush, all expressing their condolences, saying that this type of political violence has no place in American society. California Governor Gavin Newsom calling this disgusting, former President Obama, calling it despicable. And here at the White House, just a short time ago, flags are now at half staff here in mourning. But again, Kristen,

if you've been speaking with White House officials, it's a very somber scene, very sense of dread and mourning here at the White House just several hours after the shooting unfolded, Krista. And Gabe, at this hour, do we know if there are any event scheduled to pay tribute to Charlie Kirk? We know that the vice president was incredibly close with him as well. What are you hearing about that? Well, there's still a lot of questions about scheduling tomorrow. The president, of course, was expected to head to New York. He was supposed to head the ceremony here at the Pentagon First on the anniversary of 9-11. and then head to New York and attend the Yankees game later on in the day. Still no word from the White House that that schedule will go on as planned.

But again, you know, with him being so close to Charlie Kirk and the White House officials, being so close to him, it's still unclear how they will pay tribute to him, whether we might hear from the president, perhaps on social media, once again later on tonight. But flags are here are at Haastaff once again, Christ. All right, Gabe Gutierrez. Thank you so much for your reporting from the White House. We really appreciate it. I am joined now by two people who are at that event today. They witnessed the shooting, Taylor Dufour and Haley Birmingham, a married couple from American Fork, Utah. Thank you so much to both of you for joining me. I had the great privilege of speaking to both of you earlier today. My condolences for this horrific loss and the fact that you were there. How are you both holding up? Haley, why don't you start? It just comes in waves.

You kind of think about it just as we were at our son's game, how grateful we are to still be here. It could have been so much worse. And you just think it's just a weird thing to be a part of. We haven't really wrapped our heads around it yet. Taylor, I imagine you must still be in a complete. state of shock. Yes, absolutely.

I'm just grateful, like she said, that, you know, we're here for our kids. It's just, it's sad that there's so much hate in the world. It's just unbearable. You're absolutely right. Taylor, if you can, I know this is so hard, but walk us through what you saw and what you heard in the moment that that bullet rang out. Everything was going great. Everyone, you know, it was a fun atmosphere. Lots of cool people. He brought together a lot of great people. And, you know, as soon as the shot happened, I think everybody was kind of just like, you know, is that real? People just started dropping. And I just, my wife got down. I just laid on top of her and told her, I've got you. I looked over and saw Charlie as he was falling out of the chair. I saw all the blood coming out of his neck, and so it was, I knew it was real.

And, you know, we just stuck together and tried to help everyone around us, see if anybody needed anything, and if everyone was safe, and nobody was hurt. And then we did what we could to get out of there. Haley, I can't imagine the fear. Did you also witness Charlie Kirk get shot? And what was going through your head when all of this is unfolding? I didn't witness that I saw him fall out of his chair. I was laying on the ground already, along with most people.

I just still don't even, I just keep seeing glimpses of what happened in people's faces. And the hardest part is just so many teens laying on the ground and so many mothers with their children. In that moment, you don't know, you don't know if you're supposed to be. supposed to lay on the ground or run, and everyone around us was screaming and crying, and I just kept saying people, if we can find the shooter, we'll know which way to run. But people are just stepping on us and falling on us. It's something I've never experienced, and I would never wish it upon anyone. It was watching those kids was the hardest part, and I just keep seeing their faces and mom with her three kids. You wish you could do more, and you don't know if you're

running is the right thing or stopping and helping is. You know, Haley, you've touched on something so important, both the confusion that happens when there is a mass shooting, but also the fact that so many of the people there were young. And that was what Charlie Kirk was about, about speaking to young people, about getting them engaged in political discourse. Haley, you're a mom.

How does that impact you? It's hard. My son is going to a concert tonight, and I'm scared. Just being here at my son's football game right now, I just smiled the whole time. These kids are safe, and they're smiling, and they love each other. And so it was good to come to the game and see that,

but I pray for Charlie. wife and his children. He was doing such amazing things for our kids, teaching us that we can have different opinions and learn from each other. And we don't have to hate to think differently. And Taylor, first of all, Haley, I just can hear your heartbreak. And we join you and praying for Charlie Kirk's family. Hopefully tonight everyone is. Yeah. Taylor, we learned that there is what authorities are referring to as a person of interest in custody. They're still trying to determine more about this, but knowing that there is someone in custody. What's your reaction to learning that?

So I don't know. I guess I had heard that they had caught someone and then it wasn't. the right person and they were still looking. I don't know if I hadn't heard that they had actually got somebody else in custody now. They do have someone there saying that they do now have a person of interest in custody, a second person. That definitely makes me feel a lot better about the situation and safer. That was my biggest fear was seeing all these children at this college. Their parents aren't around.

They don't have the people, you know, there to be with them. And knowing that there was still somebody out there, it was the biggest fear. We couldn't get out of the parking lot and watching everybody's move, just scared. Is somebody else going to come out, you know, and start shooting? And it's sad. It's actually, it angers me to have to know that we have to live this way. And speaking of that, Haley, I think, you know, when you and I were talking a bit earlier today, the two of you said something that really struck me,

which is that you just walked into this event. There were no metal detectors. There was no security. There were law enforcement on the scene, but it wasn't enough to protect him from this horrific gunman. Sorry, what was the last part? Are you angry that there wasn't better security?

Do you think there needs to be better security at frankly all political events? Yeah, I wasn't. I wasn't angry that there wasn't better security. I trusted in my state. I trusted in the people we live around. I trusted that we were safe. I didn't think in Utah this would ever happen.

We, I think because of the religion that mainly surrounds us, we're a pretty loving state and accepting state. And no, I didn't, I'm mad that this happened. I'm very mad. I wondered why they didn't have bold. why they didn't have bulletproof glass around him. But I also was just so excited that we could all come together and we didn't need to be in fear.

Taylor, what is the message that you would like to send to everyone all across the country tonight as they watch this? I would just, I guess, the only thing I'd really need, you know, like to say is, you know, there's, Right now, there's so much division in the country in the world, and there's so much hate and anger. And I just, I wish personally that people could just love each other, that people could just allow everybody to be who they want to be

and have their own political views and not have that determined whether or not you like them or you hate them. You know, race, political, anything just doesn't matter. We're all people. We should all just love each other. Well, it's such an incredibly powerful message that will end the conversation on. Taylor, Haley. Thank you so much for joining us.

Please know that our thoughts are with the Kirk family, but all of you who were there today. I know that you are all grieving and we are with you. Thank you. We want to bring in now Liz Kreutz, NBC News correspondent. Liz, I know that you have been monitoring this story closely all day long. We did get some new details about the investigation just a short time ago when we heard from law enforcement and the governor. What were the key takeaways for you, Liz?

Yeah, Kristen, so really a little bit of some confusion here in terms of the semantics about what we're hearing in terms of a potential suspect being in custody. FBI director, Cash Patel put out on X saying that they do have the person. responsible for this shooting in custody. And then when the governor, Governor Cox of Utah, came out and gave a press conference earlier, he said they have a person of interest in custody. Here's that post on X from Cash Patel saying that he's in custody.

Thank you to the local and state authorities in Utah for their partnership with the FBI. And we know that the FBI have been assisting on the ground with this investigation. And they were saying that they believe this suspect shot at Charlie Kirk from 200 yards away from a roof and they have some surveillance video of this person, potentially wearing black as well. And they're asking for people who were there to maybe send in videos that potentially could help them identify more about this person that they appear

to have in custody. And we should say the situation as well, Kristen, on the campus right now is also on lockdown. The campus is now closed because of this. You can see the videos, obviously, in that initial moment, thousands of students are trying to run off campus. campus. But there were classes in session as this was going on as well. Classes are now canceled. Students that were on campus and maybe hid in different buildings or ran into different buildings. Police, according to the university, are right now going building by building on this campus trying to safely get all of the students out. And they even posted to students. They said, we have this hotline number set up that you can call. If you are stuck and you want an escort,

call this number and we will safely escort you off campus. And Liz, you know, we've been talking throughout the hour about who Charlie Kirk was, the fact that he was a conservative activist, and he really focused on energizing young people, that political debate that is so central to our democracy. He would hold these events on college campuses to foster that debate, to take tough questions, to have difficult conversations, and that that was really such a part of his ability to energize young people for President Trump, but around this political process overall, broadly speaking, talk about this event and how it fits into this broader work that Charlie Kirk was doing. Yeah, when you talk about that, something that comes to mind, Kristen, is the podcast that California Governor Newsom did a few months back with Charlie Kirk. He had him on as a guest, and obviously there are different political beliefs, but they were able to engage in political discourse. And Governor Newsom actually said to Charlie Kirk, my son is a huge fan of yours. And he said that his son had even asked to be able to come that day to meet Charlie Kirk when they were filming. But he said, no, you got to go to school.

so you can't. I think that just speaks to how much Charlie Kirk was resonating with young boys and young men across this country. In particular, there was this term bro culture. And he really did tap into something. He founded Turning Point USA, a largely based out of Arizona. I covered the Arizona. I was in Arizona, Maricopa County leading up to the presidential election, and you could just sense it on the college campuses how much mobilization and energy there was. He kind of made politics cool. The students wanted to wear the MAGA hat or the Turning Point USA hat. And he then went on to announce this tour called the American Comeback Tour. And this was the very first stop on that tour at Utah Valley University. It was today. It started at noon. It was open to all students and also open to the public. And it was called, you saw it there, prove me wrong.

He wanted people to come up, get up to the mic, and challenge him. And that was what he was all about. And it speaks to the core of the first. Amendment and our right to free speech and engage in this political discourse. It certainly does. And he also spoke very powerfully about the importance of nonviolence. Liz Kreutz, thank you so much for your reporting on just a tragic day for this entire country. We really appreciate it. And there are so many questions that remain tonight as police and the FBI continue their investigation. Joining me now is NBC's Kelly O'Donnell. Kelly, I know you've been

talking to your sources. They are trying to provide a little bit of clarity. about what the FBI is saying about this person of interest who is in custody. What can you tell us about that aspect of this investigation, Kelly? Well, I've just been communicating with sources, Kristen. And at this point, what we know is that there is a process underway to try to get information from the individual who was described by the governor of Utah as a person of interest. But FBI sources say they believe this is the person responsible for the death of Charlie Kirk. Separately, there was an arrest, detention of an older man who was seen on video and is facing an obstruction charge, someone who was known to locals, an active person in the community, very separate as it stands right now.

Some of the steps are to try to assess what can they learn from the scene itself. It's sort of a diagramming of the shooting scene on an open college campus like this. You have many buildings, you have many sight lines, and they do have some visual. that shows the person of interest in dark clothing. It is grainy video as described by officials, as is often the case with security or surveillance type video. They will hope to elicit other videos. Many, of course, of the attendees were rolling on their phones,

taking pictures, taking video, doing their own live streaming, all of those things that are part of a live event like this, and to look for additional clues. Another part of this is often about looking at looking at once they have the name and the identity of the person in custody, they can work back through their social media, their phones, their electronics, all of those things to get a picture of what was leading up to this event today. Is their motive that is discernible? It is not always discernible. And we see even in cases where a political figure is the subject

of violence, politics is not always the motive. So we shouldn't assume that that's a direct causation at this point because sometimes there's a mental health component, sometimes a person is attracted to a large scale event and things of that nature. And it is also important to note that in these kinds of college campuses, the sort of event that Charlie Cook was organizing and participating in is part of a tour. He would do these kinds of events where he would take questions, engage in debate with those who would come. He had a published schedule, so his presence there was clearly known. And while there's some security on campus, it is not the same as you and I have come to know in covering either presidents or political figures at the highest level. And the reality

is most of the time when there is security involved, it's about trying to keep people from physically coming in contact with the person of, who is the focus, in this case Charlie Kirk. We've seen instances where someone throws a punch or throws something at a figure. That's fairly easy to protect. What is incredibly difficult to protect against is a long range from a high place kind of shot. Without the enormous resources of like the Secret Service or state police to watch every rooftop, that's one of the great vulnerabilities about public spaces and public life. And it's inherent in our First Amendment rights to gather, to speak, and so forth. There's vulnerability in that, and that's the exposure of being in a public place. An indoor event, much more easy to secure,

an outdoor event, very difficult to secure. Kristen? Kelly O'Donnell, as always, thank you so much for your fantastic reporting. We really appreciate it. We will continue to follow the very latest on the Charlie Kirk shooting throughout this broadcast, but we do want to turn to another breaking story tonight. At least three high school students in critical condition after a shooting in Evergreen Colorado. Not far from the site of Columbine, that shooting more than 25 years ago. NBC's Tom Costello has the late details. Terror on the campus of Evergreen High School, 30 miles west of Denver. Use caution, active shooters still down at the high school. A massive emergency response after a shooter opened fire right about noon. Students evacuating the school as police rushed in.

I now have two students performing CPR. The Sheriff's Department says three victims were rushed to St. Anthony Hospital in Denver, all in critical condition. One of them, the shooter. We have three people who have been transported to the hospital. We think they're all students. Don't know what their injuries are. It happened in Jefferson County, Colorado, also home to Columbine High School, where 16 people were massacred in 1999, among the worst high school shootings in history. And it comes amid a violent start to the school year.

23 people shot nationwide, including two who died. Colorado Governor Polis posting on X today, students should be able to attend schools safely and without fear across our state and nation. We are all praying for the victims and the entire community. Tom Costello, NBC News. And when Top Story returns the other major headlines, we are following tonight the fallout after Russian drones were shot down over Poland during an attack on Ukraine. Could it drag NATO and the U.S. into the war? Plus the growing tensions across the Middle East, as Israel warns that its deadly strike in Qatar

could just be the beginning. Stay with us. And we're back now with the major escalation in Europe. NATO shooting down multiple Russian drones, flying in Poland's airspace, the incursion sparking an international outcry. Roth Sanchez has the very late. Tonight, scattered over hundreds of miles across Poland, the remains of Russian drones shot

down by NATO forces. It's the first time NATO has opened fire on Russian aircraft over its territory since the start of the war in Ukraine. Leading Poland's Prime Minister to warn, his country is now closer to all-out conflict than any time since World War II, a conflict that could drag in its NATO ally, the U.S. while European leaders strongly condemned Russia. Last night, Russia launched drones into Poland in an unprecedented attack. President Trump posting a one-line statement, writing,

What's with Russia violating Poland's airspace with drones? Here we go. And speaking by phone to his Polish counterpart, Poland says that during a massive Russian air raid on neighboring Ukraine, 19 drones crossed into its airspace, of which at least four were shot down. Most of the interceptions clustered around the Poland-Ukraine border, but at least two drones appear to have flown deep into Polish territory. No injuries were reported, but this house damaged by falling debris, and Warsaw's international airport closed for several hours. Poland's foreign minister calling it an intentional act. There were 19 breaches, and it simply defies imagination that could be accidental. Russia's defense ministry saying tonight, there were no top. targets envisioned for destruction on the Polish territory.

It's been nearly a month since President Trump hosted Vladimir Putin in Alaska, hoping to end the war in Ukraine. But tonight, there's little sign his diplomacy is working. And Raf Sanchez joins us now from London. So I think you really framed this very well, which is that there was this all-out effort to try to get peace talks going between Russia and Ukraine. have stalled. And now this, what is widely seen as an escalation, based on your conversations with sources, could we see a further response from NATO? What are you anticipating?

So, Kristen, earlier today, the Polish government invoked what's called Article 4 of NATO. That calls for emergency consultations among the Allies. It's one notch below Article 5, the famous Article 5 that calls on all members of the alliance to come to the defense of any member that is attacked. So we are waiting to see what comes out of those Article 4 consultations. But of course, NATO is only as strong as the cooperation between its members. And we have seen time and time again that the Trump administration is just not on the same page as many of the European allies when it comes to Ukraine. And when you judge the tone of the statements coming from European capitals tonight compared to that very short, one-line truth social post

coming from the president. It's not at all clear that they're on the same page when it comes to the severity of this Russian incursion. Kristen? Yeah, it's a really good point. And of course, there are U.S. forces stationed in Poland right now. What do we know about the status of those forces, Roth? Right. So there are about 10,000 U.S. troops stationed in Poland right now. They're there under the auspices of NATO. They're there to deter Russia. NATO is saying it is actually Polish and Dutch fighter jets that shot down these drones overnight. But there are American jets that take part in that exact same air patrol through the skies of Poland.

And so, Kristen, it's very possible if this happened on another night, it could have been American pilots who were called on to pull the trigger. Kristen. Wow. All right, Ralph Sanchez, thank you so much for your reporting from London. We really appreciate it. Now we want to turn to the Middle East where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is issuing a new warning in the wake of Israel's strike on Qatar. The Prime Minister signaling more attacks could come just hours after President Trump said

he was unhappy with the strike. Richard Engel reports tonight from the region. Even after President Trump criticized Israel's attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar and told the Emir that attacks in his country wouldn't be repeated, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu tonight doubled down, suggesting Israel might strike again. And I say to Qatar and all nations who harbor terrorists, you either expel them or you bring them to justice, because if you don't, we will. Yesterday, President Trump said he was unhappy Israel attacked Hamas in Qatar, a close U.S.

ally, where Hamas has an office as part of a deal with the United States to facilitate negotiations between enemies. I was very unhappy about it. Very unhappy about every aspect. And we've got to get the hostages back. Hamas claims the Israeli attack in Doha yesterday was a failure that several members were killed, but that the group's senior leaders survived. Earlier today, I spoke with the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee.

He said the U.S. Embassy was not informed ahead of time. How can that be when you have such a close relationship with Israel? relationship with Israel. Do you think that this was disrespectful, taking the U.S. for granted, taking President Trump's support for granted? I don't see it that way. I just see it is that countries make decisions based on what they think their best interests are. And that doesn't mean everyone agrees. Sometimes we do. Sometimes we may not. Tonight, Qatar has responded, the government vehemently denouncing what it described as Netanyahu's reckless statements. A senior country official tells NBC news that he's lost hope in the ceasefire process that could not only

free the hostages, but also stop Israel's ongoing offensive in Gaza. Our thanks to Richard Engel for that report. And when we come back, our breaking coverage does continue. The new developments just in after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at an event on a college campus. We're going to take a quick break. Then Tom Yamis will pick up the coverage right after this. Stay with us. We're back now with our breaking news coverage. Conservative activist Charlie Kirk killed during an event at Utah Valley University. Thousands in attendance when the 31-year-old was shot on stage. Joining me now is Jaron Hansen, who was in the front row of Kirk's event today and witnessed

the shooting. Jaron, we thank you for joining top. story tonight. I'm sorry for what you and so many of your friends witness today. Walk me through the terrifying moments. What do you remember? Yeah, so I heard about this event about two weeks ago, right, from social media. And so I had high expectations seeing his work before, Charlie's work, right? And so I got to campus, did my classes, got done, and I got to the event about two hours early at 10 a.m. And by that time, there's already a bunch of crowds. And I actually wasn't the first one is it's actually crazy how many people showed up to this event. But as the time came closer, as Charlie said, he came out about noon. And at noon, he just started, you know, hyping everyone

up saying like, hey, Utah, it's great to be here. I'm happy that you guys are out here supporting me. And we're here just to have a, you know, civil dialogue, you know, debate. Because I get in line if, you know, if you want to get proven wrong, you just have a nice, peaceful, you know, debate. And at that time, he started throwing out some of his merch, some of his hats. And I got lucky to actually get one right from Charlie. So I'm super happy about it. that but um basically is the second question we got to the second question maybe about 10 15 minutes in and it was actually about the trans shooter in minnesota about two weeks ago that was what the question was based off of and in the middle of that question we just hear a big pop like a firecracker

i would describe it and all of a sudden we just all look backwards because that's where it came from and we just all looked at charlie and just saw blood just gushing out of the leftist side of neck and I've never seen so much blood in my life it was it was horrifying honestly and we all just took cover and we just got out there as soon as possible but it was something so tragic it's kind of it's really surreal to be honest that I was there seeing that you know we've seen all this political violence over the last 14 months you know and even before then there's been incidents as well and this country has had a history unfortunately at times it's gotten pretty supercharged now when this happened did you know what was happening I mean this

Did it click? Did you know instantly? Or was it so surreal that it took a moment? It honestly was so surreal. It took a second. Like, I wasn't even thinking that this would happen, nothing like this, especially in a state like Utah.

And it's just, it didn't really click until I saw Charlie and just the amount of blood and it just finally clicked. And all of the students, and there's not even just students, there's general emissions, so parents with their kids and strollers and everything, we just all took cover, got down on the ground. And there wasn't a lot of places.

is to run out. So there's just a lot of pushing, just running, and it was just really chaotic. And I can't tell you how many people I saw just, like, crying, scared for their lives, trying to call their friends, family members, parents, and the phone lines were blocked up. It was just chaotic. Could you hear from where the shot came? I mean, they're saying he was 200 yards away. He might have been on a roof, right? There's a suspect now in custody, but did it feel like it was from far away?

Could you even tell? I couldn't tell, to be honest. It just sounded like a firecracker, and, you know, I'm a avid gun. You know, I've shot guns before, but it just, I just couldn't tell. And we weren't sure if there was going to be more, if, you know, that was it, if there was more than one. It was really just a lot of uncertainty, and we weren't sure about anything. So you're a college student, you go there to see somebody that you want to hear speak. He is assassinated. He's died, as you know.

Has that sort of hit you yet about what you just sort of witnessed? what's happening right now in America? Yeah, I think it's, of course, it's such a tragedy. I mean, Charlie's a father, an influencer, a husband, and it's really horrible that he died, and it's just disgusting what happened today, right? But it really is starting to hit. I think the shock is starting to wear off,

and it's just a horrible thing which we witnessed today. Yeah, what do you think Charlie Kirk's gonna be remembered for? I think he's going to be remembered for opening the space for, in particular my generation, the college high school age kid range, to the political world. I mean, he argued a lot of topics and went to a lot of campuses, arguing and talking about the things that we believed in, you know, and given, you know, not everyone believes in him, but right or left, whoever may be, I think he just was there to open up the conversation to instill our first amendment, our right to speech, and he did that very well as through

his debates in college campuses. All right. Jason, Jaron, I should say, I thank you for joining us. I'm sorry you had a witness that. I'm sorry you've lived through that and experienced that at a time in your life when you should be learning and, you know, soaking up everything. And this unfortunate was a horrific incident that happened right in front of your eyes. But we thank you for sharing your time and your thoughts today. Thank you. We're going to have much more on her special coverage just ahead, including the latest in the investigation. After conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at an event, what we know about a person of interest in custody. and some of the clues investigators may have. We're back now with that breaking news. Conservative activist Charlie Kirk assassinated at an event on a college campus. Police saying a person of interest is now in custody. The 31-year-old was shot and killed today during an event at Utah Valley University

after a shooter opened fire from around 200 yards away. Video showing the chaotic aftermath of that moment, witnesses running after the shots rang out. Kirk rising to influence in recent years growing close. close with the president and becoming a prominent voice for young conservatives. The White House lowering its flags to half staff today as his supporters mourn the loss of a rising star in the party. As we follow the late breaking details, I want to bring in NBC's Tom Winter for the latest on the investigation. Tom, we know they have a suspect in custody. Walk our viewers through what we know about why they have this man and how they possibly caught up to him. Sure, Tom. So as we heard

earlier this evening at a press conference, apparently it was some surveillance video that they were able to get of this individual dressed in all dark clothing. It was described at the press conference. And then from there, apparently they were able to get some additional information and stop this person and take them into custody at some point. There is a little bit of a discussion that this individual might have been stopped with a weapon on them, which of course obviously would help out police, kind of an obvious clue. So that's a bit of a question at this hour. There is an ongoing investigation into this person's background, obviously motive. I This is a targeted killing of Charlie Kirk.

We know that. It's a tragedy. We know that this individual was specifically going at Charlie Kirk. I don't think that there's any doubt in that at all. The question now is, why? Did he have a specific ideological beef with him? Was there something, were they from some sort of a community that Kirk has talked about in the past? And that's why they wanted to do this.

Is there any sort of foreign nexus? You remember at the press conference they asked about, is there any sort of foreign connection? They said no comment. Of course, that doesn't mean that there is one. All of those things are part of the investigation, Tom, and all of those things law enforcement officials are actively looking into in all matters that I was on the phone up until about 10 seconds ago as you were introducing my name. So it's a very dynamic investigation, a lot of work being done. And Tom, it's obviously, you know, we say it's a fluid situation because things can change and they did change in this case. We know an elderly man that was in the crowd was taken down.

He was arrested, handcuffed. There were social media videos of him initially thought to be the shooter. But later on, investigators saying something different. He still remains in custody, but he's not the guy police think pulled the trigger. That's right, Tom. And, you know, in this day and age, of course, and I know you and I do it too. We've got the screen on at home, whether it's the TV or the phone. We're watching what you and I are talking about and all of our great colleagues.

And then you're also checking social media. You're checking this. You're checking that. And so this constant stream. And I know there were a lot of images of this person, this individual. It is late 60s, early 70s. It was taken into custody. according to police charged locally with obstruction of justice.

And somebody I think is pretty well known to them is an individual. They've made several arrests on in the past tied to protests. But look, no nexus at all to the actual shooting itself, just somebody that was apparently an issue according to local police there in the crowd. But just wanted to clarify that, especially since that photo went so far and wide earlier this afternoon. And we have both the FBI and local law enforcement covering this. event right now and investigating what exactly happened there. Yeah, that's exactly right. So they're going to work together until they figure out the specific

motive here. Was there anything about this individual, what they did, what they've said, what they might have on their phones, any sort of activity, anything involving the gun where there could be a federal nexus of federal charges undoubtedly. That's an avenue given the FBI's interest in this and given this person's background and that this has been described as a political assassination. Obviously something where the FBI could definitely have some jurisdiction From a state standpoint, they would certainly have a jurisdiction from a homicide standpoint, so they'll look at that as well. And as we've seen, Tom, in these recent cases and incidents, we've seen federal charges,

we've seen state charges sometimes brought at the same time. All of that will be figured out in the hours and days to come. But for right now, it definitely sounds like officials there have said it on the record that the FBI and local law enforcement are looking at it. One thing that the FBI does particularly well that they've set up for incidents just like this is tips.fbi.gov. So, you know, all the images we've seen in this today, Tom. How many videos have we seen?

12, 24, more than that. The FBI is looking for people to send their original videos to them. It'll help out with the case and help out with their evidence. So that's something that is very 2025, but it's helped them out in many investigations in the past. Okay, Tom Winter, we thank you for all of your analysis. I know we'll check back with you if there's any breaking developments on this. As you heard earlier in the broadcast, Charlie Kirk was only 8. when he founded his group Turning Point USA.

You see him here just a year later, opening an event build as the next generation of conservatives in 2013. His group went on to host events at colleges and even holding campaign events for President Trump. Tonight, the president's son, Eric, posting this photo with Charlie captioned, Charlie Kirk was an incredible patriot,

brave, tough as hell, and a dear friend to our entire family. For more in Charlie Kirk's life and legacy, I'm joined tonight by Brylin Holleyhand, a political commentator and freshman at Auburn University and Republican strategist and good friend to Top Story, Matt Gorman. Thank you to you both.

I know both of you knew Charlie Kirk. I am sorry for your loss. Bryland, I do want to ask you, you were close with Charlie, and you spoke to him in just the last few days. How are you doing tonight? You know, we're extremely shaken up and heartbroken. Charlie Kirk was that larger than life figure, and the last person that you imagined this happening to, Charlie Kirk was a walking, talking, beacon of. hope. And I can really confidently say as someone who has been on college campuses with him,

who has been on the campaign trail with him, who has seen him in conversations with the president, that the only reason that President Trump is in the Oval Office this evening is because of Charlie Kirk's tireless efforts to reach out for the next generation. And that's what makes it so hard. Such a fighter for the movement as a whole. And I've got to say, the first time we met, it was in the fourth grade. I just started a podcast at 11 years old. And I'll be honest with you, not a lot of people wanted to come on a fourth grader's podcast, but Charlie took a chance on He came on, and afterwards I asked him for some advice, and this afternoon just ruling with the news and speaking with his family and friends, it brought a smile on my face, thinking of the advice, because it was so authentic and so Charlie, and he said, Bryland, the left will have all the money and fundraising in the world, but nobody can ever say they outwork me. I will wake up as early as I need to. I will stay up as late as I need to. I'll travel to whatever campuses I need to.

But he always took that time to fight for the next generation, and that's what we'll be remembering. Matt, you've been in Republican politics a long time. Again, I'm sorry for the loss of somebody, you know, within the Republican Party and in the movement you work for. How are you and your colleagues taking this? I mean, you're out there with political candidates all the time. You're out there doing Republican events. This guy wasn't running for office. He wasn't elected. He was an influencer. Huge following, huge, you know, we know how big his movement was. But it's just wild that he was assassinated, right? And he wasn't somebody that he had even run for office. No, he wasn't even a traditional operative per se in the traditional sense of the word. But you talk to almost any Republican in either the Trump administration or just in power or around power today.

It was always either one or two degrees of separation from not just meeting Charlie once, but knowing Charlie. He was that ubiquitous in circles. And Bryland is right in many respects. His get out the vote campaign was instrumental last year. to knock on doors, chase mail ballots, and really ensure that people came out to vote. But particularly a hard demographic, young people, right? And that's always very tough to get them out. And also going to college campuses and his reach was very strong there,

but he was also a massive advocate for family, for getting married, having kids, you know, going to church or having religion as a one's role in life. Very, very important influential among young people, especially, too. Yeah. Brian, how did he break through with young people? Because, you know, he had podcast. He was huge on social media. What was it about his message, as Matt alluded to?

He sort of broke the mold when it came to Republican operatives, and he probably wouldn't call himself that as well because he kind of came out of the MAGA movement and, you know, that sort of the people that wanted to get rid of the swamp in Washington, D.C. on the right. Charlie was authentic, and I think this is what resonated with people so well. He really took the time to talk to people. He didn't come to campuses and scream at college students.

Like, I'm a freshman at Auburn University. People love to see him actually come and interact with people. And Charlie was doing this the right way. Every event that he's ever done on a college campus, he has a Q&A. The entire event is just come and ask me questions. And he encourages people that are on the opposition, people that disagree with him, to get in the front of the line. He wants to have conversations. And I think that that's something that we've lost in the country.

And if anything comes from this, it's a need for civil discourse. Because Charlie was doing that. He was bringing back conversations in this whole travel. could have been prevented by a conversation. That's why he was there. I mean, how do you explain this to his two young kid today? Your dad went to a college campus, a place of free expression and free conversation, and didn't come home?

Like, where else was this supposed to happen? Yeah. Matt, what do you think happens now? I mean, in the way people campaign and the way people try to get their message out, you know, I was talking to Kristen Walker a lot about this. As much as social media is necessary right now, and any political candidate wants to get their message out, You still sort of have to go out there. The president does it himself, even after his assassination attempts.

But you have to go out there and you have to start the movement and press the flesh. How do you think this changes everything when somebody like Charlie, who, again, was incredibly popular on the right, is assassinated? I'm worried it could have a physical but also maybe a different type of barrier between, you know, people like Charlie, whether it's on the left or the right, and, you know, people on a college campus or his ability to engage with kind of the general public, right? We saw this in some respects after the shooting in Butler of President Trump, right? His events got more controlled, more guarded. He got more disson. He had to for his safety. I hope that, you know, free expression, as Brown was saying,

was such a cornerstone of what he believed in and debate and civilized debate. I hope we don't lose that. And we can still talk and be civilized without, you know, barriers, physical or otherwise in between us. Yeah. Brian, I'm going to give you the last word here of what you're going to remember about your mentor, Charlie Kirk. A family man and a man of faith. That is how I will be remembering Charlie

in conversations this week. I got to tell you, you understand the hecticness of the campaign and traveling and crisscross in the country. Charlie, in my entire 10 years of knowing him, never did and take the Sabbath. Every single Sunday flew home, took his wife and two young kids to church,

actually took the time to be a father figure, took the time to turn his phone off on Sundays and actually be present with his family. that's so rare and so unique and just shows that genuinely he was a family Christian man and America lost a really good one tonight. Brian Lynn Holleyhand, you are a political commentator, but also a freshman at Auburn University. We thank you for joining us tonight. Matt Gorman, we know I'll see you again here on Top Story.

We thank you for your analysis as well. Thank you, sir. That's going to do it for us tonight. Thanks for watching the special edition of Top Story. I'm Tom Yamison, New York. Stay right there. More News on the way.