Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, a campus-focused conservative organization that rose to general prominence on the right, died Wednesday after he was shot at Utah Valley University’s Orem campus, President Trump said.

“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” he wrote on Truth Social. “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.”

Kirk, 31, leaves behind a wife and two children. He first rose to prominence more than a decade ago after creating Turning Point USA; in recent years, he became a close ally of Trump.

Ellen Treanor, a university spokesperson, said he was shot around 12:15 p.m. local time during a TPUSA event held in a courtyard in the center of campus. She said that police believe the shot came from the Losee Center, about 200 yards away.

Treanor said Kirk’s private security took him immediately to a hospital, where he underwent surgery.

While university police initially had a suspect in custody, the suspect had been released, she said. Scott Trotter, another university spokesperson, said, “When it first happened, there was a person who told the police that he was the shooter, and after interviewing him, they determined that he wasn’t.”

Treanor said people in the courtyard scattered when the shot rang out, and the university has now cleared the courtyard. Trotter, who said he heard the shot, estimated there were 1,500 people at the event and that half were students. The university has since closed the campus and canceled classes until further notice.

Trotter said the Utah governor’s office, the FBI and other agencies are coordinating with the university police department in investigating. He said there’s no information yet on the weapon or ammunition used, but the shot hit Kirk in the upper body.

Utah governor Spencer J. Cox posted on social media Wednesday that “those responsible will be held fully accountable. Violence has no place in our public life. Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act. Our prayers are with Charlie, his family, and all those affected.”

TPUSA is headquartered in Phoenix. About a decade ago, it launched a Professor Watchlist that has resulted in academics being the targets of vitriol and threats for their alleged views.

Matthew Boedy, author of a forthcoming book on Kirk and head of the Georgia state conference of the American Association of University Professors, said Wednesday that Kirk was the most influential person that doesn’t work in the White House.

“He has made Turning Point into an indispensable organization for conservative causes,” he said. “He’s become the new face of Christian nationalism, which is a growing trend in America. And of course, he has, I would say, changed college campuses.”

He added that campus events like Wednesday’s were his “bread and butter.”

“He is very smart,” he said. “He was one of the pioneers of the ‘prove me wrong’ mantra.”