Featured Image Credit: Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Getty Images
Topics: Charlie Kirk, US News, Crime, News, World News
Madison Burgess
Topics: Charlie Kirk, US News, Crime, News, World News
Charlie Kirk's close friend, who was in attendance the day he was assassinated, has revealed what happened in the final moments of his life.
The right-wing influencer, 31, died after being struck with a single bullet while speaking at a university event in Utah on 10 September, while horrified crowds watched on. Just two days later, authorities confirmed they had arrested a suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who has since been charged with seven counts, including aggravated murder.
And now, a close friend to Kirk, Christian author Frank Turek, 63 has described the harrowing journey to hospital that occurred afterwards, as medics attempted to save his life.
Speaking on a recent episode of his Cross Examined podcast, Turek detailed how Kirk's pulse reportedly came back temporarily before he was declared deceased.
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He recalled how five people, including himself and Kirk's security, were crammed in an SUV driving to the nearest hospital to get help while attempting to stop the bleeding from his neck.
Despite both attempts to save him however, Turek said his friend had already died by the time they reached the hospital.
He said: "Charlie wasn't there. His eyes were fixed. He wasn't looking at me, he was looking past me right into eternity. He was with Jesus already."
Turek added: "There was nothing any of us could do about it. We were giving him CPR but nothing was happening.
"It wasn't like if we had better first aid or we had better medical facilities or we were faster to the hospital, we could have saved him. We couldn't."
He continued: "So if that's any comfort at all, Charlie didn't suffer. He was gone, he was with Jesus."
However, when they arrived at the hospital, Turek claims that doctors did manage to temporarily get a pulse back.
"They did get a pulse back, we were praying for a miracle," he said. "The doctor said, 'We got a pulse because Charlie was a very healthy man. But the shot was catastrophic.'"
According to the author, the surgeon later confirmed Kirk's death around 20 to 30 minutes after he was taken in.
It comes as Kirk's widow Erika also recalled the heartbreaking day, as she spoke to tens of thousands of Americans during his memorial service at the State Farm Stadium yesterday (Sunday 21 September).
The mother-of-two said: "On the afternoon of September 10th, I arrived at a Utah hospital to do the unthinkable. To look directly at my husband’s murdered body."
She added: "I saw the wound that ended his life. I felt everything you would expect to feel; I felt shock, I felt horror, and a level of heartache that I didn't even know existed.
"But, there was something else too. Even in death, I could see the man that I love. I saw the one single grey hair on the side of his head, which I never told him about - now he knows."
She continued: "I also saw on his lips the faintest smile, and that told me something important. It revealed to me a great mercy from God in this tragedy.
"When I saw that, it told me Charlie didn’t suffer. Even the doctor told me. It was something so instant that even if Charlie had been shot in the operating room itself, nothing could have been done.
"There was no pain, no fear, no agony. One moment, Charlie was doing what he loved, arguing and debating on campus, fighting for the gospel and truth in front of a big crowd, and then he blinked and saw his saviour in paradise."