DONALD Trump has announced he will award Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, following the American conservative activist’s death.
The US president described Kirk as “legendary” and “loved by all” following the 31-year-old's death at a Utah Valley University event on Wednesday.
The date of the ceremony has yet to be announced but Trump said he has no doubt there will be a “very big crowd”.
“Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty, and an inspiration to millions and millions of people,” the US president said on Thursday.
He added: “We miss him greatly, yet I have no doubt that Charlie’s voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on.”
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian honour.
On Wednesday, videos posted to social media from the event showed Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong”, before a single shot is heard.
Following the news of Kirk being shot, Trump wrote on his Truth Social account: “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.”
The sniper who assassinated Kirk is believed to have jumped off the roof and fled after firing a single shot from a high-powered rifle which police recovered from the scene at Utah Valley University campus.
The killer is believed to have blended in on the campus where Kirk was shot and appeared to be of “college age”, police said as they continued to investigate the latest act of political violence in America.
“I can tell you this was a targeted event,” said Robert Bohls, the top FBI agent in Salt Lake City.
Federal, state and local authorities said they were working on “multiple active crime scenes” on Thursday in the search for the killer of the conservative activist and close ally of President Trump.
“This is a dark day for our state. It’s a tragic day for our nation,” said Utah Governor Spencer Cox.
“I want to be very clear, this is a political assassination.”
Two people were detained on Wednesday but neither was determined to have had any connection to the shooting and both have been released, Utah public safety officials said.
The shooting drew renewed attention to the escalating threat of political violence in the United States that in the last several years has cut across the ideological spectrum.
