Haunting photo of Charlie Kirk's widow, fighting back tears circulates online

It had been more than a day since Charlie Kirk was gunned down and the main clues so far were a palm print, a shoe impression and a high-powered rifle found in a wooded area prompting authorities to seek the public’s help. That was until Donald Trump made the announcement that the suspect is in custody.

Here are the latest updates in the wake of the fatal shooting of Conservative activist Charlie Kirk:

The 31-year-old was killed by a single shot on Wednesday in a “targeted attack” that the governor of Utah called a political assassination.

Kirk was the co-founder of Turning Point USA, a nonprofit political organization. At the time of the fatal incident, he was speaking at a debate at Utah Valley University. He was shot in broad daylight on the university campus and pronounced dead at a hospital a few hours later.

Kirk’s casket aboard Air Force Two arrived in Phoenix, the headquarters of Turning Point USA, Thursday night. Vice President JD Vance helped carry the casket alongside other uniformed service personnel. Vance’s wife Usha stepped off the plane holding the hand of Kirk’s widow Erika.

Erika was later photographed riding in the back seat of car escorting Kirk’s body to a chapel in Arizona. She waved at supporters and was seen holding a necklace bearing a cross.

Charlie Kirk’s wife is in this image you see. While some of you mock and celebrate his death, she’s experiencing a level of pain most of us could never imagine. She just lost her husband. Their children just lost their father. A family has been shattered.Charlie wasn’t just a… pic.twitter.com/Dqk3UTyjO7

— Terrence K. Williams (@w_terrence) September 12, 2025

Kirk is survived by his wife Erika and two young children. He began dating fellow evangelical Christian, Erika Lane Frantzve, winner of the 2012 Miss Arizona USA pageant and a political science graduate from Arizona State University, after they met in New York City in 2018. They were married in May 2021.

According to her official website, she is studying for her doctorate in Biblical studies at Liberty University. She is known for founding Everyday Heroes Like You, a non-profit supporting under-recognized charities, and for running PROCLAIM, a faith-driven clothing brand.

The couple’s children include a daughter born in August 2022 and a son born in May 2024. The family was reportedly present on the Utah campus on Wednesday when the tragedy unfolded.

Vance on social media talked about his friendship with Kirk that began in 2017, when Kirk sent a message to Vance on X after his appearance on Tucker Carlson show. He “told me I did a great job … and that moment of kindness began a friendship that lasted until today,” Vance posted online Wednesday.

Kirk’s final message on X was about political violence, the murder of young Ukrainian woman of Iryna Zarutska on Charlotte, North Carolina commuter train last week.

“If we want things to change,” Kirk posted on Wednesday, “it’s 100% necessary to politicize the senseless murder of Iryna Zarutska because it was politics that allowed a savage monster with 14 priors to be free on the streets to kill her.”

Zarutska fled Ukraine in 2022 with her mother, sister, and brother to escape the war with Russia.

Existing visas could be revoked or denied of people celebrating Kirk’s death, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau posted on X Thursday.

“In light of yesterday’s horrific assassination of a leading political figure, I want to underscore that foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country. I have been disgusted to see some on social media praising, rationalizing, or making light of the event, and have directed our consular officials to undertake appropriate action,” Landau posted on X.

He urged the people on the social media platform to highlight such comments by “foreigners to my attention so that the State Department can protect the American people.”

In light of yesterday’s horrific assassination of a leading political figure, I want to underscore that foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country. I have been disgusted to see some on social media praising, rationalizing, or making light…

— Christopher Landau (@DeputySecState) September 11, 2025

“I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him in custody,” the U.S. president said on Fox News Friday morning. A few hours after Trump’s announcement, the suspect was taken into custody and identified as Tyler Robinson, 22.

“We got him,” Utah Governor Spencer Cox said. The governor also said that Robinson was not a student at the Utah Valley University where Kirk was fatally shot, although he briefly studied there in 2021, the university confirmed.

In the run-up to the shooting, Robinson is said to have become “more political,” his family told officials. Cox also cited as key pieces of evidence engravings on bullets found in a rifle believed used in the attack as well as messages attributed to the accused shooter that a roommate shared with law enforcement after the shooting. Cox said on Friday, “He was living, and had lived for a long time, with his family in Washington County.”

After the update from FBI, Trump posted a tribute post for Kirk on Truth Social and wrote, “Everybody Loved Charlie!”

Trump’s early morning announcement came after he appeared on the daily talk show Fox & Friends and was asked if there had been any developments in the assassination of Conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah.

Trump said the information was made available to him five minutes before he was set to appear on the Fox News show. He said he hopes the killer gets death penalty.

“Kirk was the finest person and he didn’t deserve this,” the U.S. president said, adding that Kirk was like a son to him.

The investigators released a series of photos and video of the suspect they believed assassinated the 31-year-old Trump ally as he spoke to students gathered in the courtyard of the Utah Valley University in Orem.

“We cannot do our job without the public’s help right now,” Cox said during a press conference on Thursday. “The public has answered our call for action.”

The Federal Bureau of Investigation received over 7,000 tips and leads, Cox said. Director of FBI Kash Patel was also in attendance but did not speak. Cox said that the last time authorities received that many tips was during the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.

A US$1,000,000 award was being offered for information leading to the arrest, Cox said.

• U of T prof who made shooting comment after Charlie Kirk assassination now on leave
• Videos allegedly show Charlie Kirk's killer before and after fatal shot fired

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