TIME Magazine runs cover story on assassination of Charlie Kirk, calls for end to political violence

The cover from TIME released with a caption from the organization read, "TIME’s new cover: Charlie Kirk’s killing could become not just a tragedy but a catalyst—an event that radicalizes ever more Americans, less an aberration than a feature of our increasingly perilous national politics."

The cover story stated, "In recent years, the prospect of a political assassination such as this, carried out before a stunned crowd in broad daylight, has hung over a nation riven by factional fury. Elected officials whispered about it in green rooms and on campaign buses. When the moment arrived, it unfolded with chilling precision: a campus stage, a microphone, a single burst of gunfire. Where it will lead now is an ominous question with no obvious answers."

TIME wrote that "America is a nation shaped by political violence and steeped in its aftershocks," noting the 1960s, which brought the assassinations of President John F Kennedy and famed activist Martin Luther King Jr, as well as January 6, the hammer attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband in their San Francisco home, and the two assassination attempts on Trump during his 2024 presidential campaign.

Kirk was shot in the neck on Wednesday and later died at Timpanogos Hospital in Orem, Utah. Kirk was engaging in what he was known for when he was shot: political debate on college campuses with young people. After the shot rang out, the crowd scattered and police arrested two separate persons of interest, but neither ended up being the shooter.

A manhunt for the shooter is ongoing as of Thursday morning. Authorities have said that they have footage of the suspect, but that they will not be releasing them to the public unless they need support in the search. The suspect is of college age and blended in well at the UVU campus.

"The shooter is believed to have fired from the roof of a building down to the location of the public event in the student courtyard. Any additional clarifications cannot be provided to protect the integrity of our investigation," a press release from the Utah Department of Public Safety said.

Videos online were going viral on Wednesday of an individual lying down on a building near the event, as well as another shot with an individual running from the scene on the roof. A rifle officials believe to be the murder weapon was also found in a wooded area near the shooting. Ammo cartridges were also marked with writings consistent with trans and Antifa ideologies.