Christian Author Frank Turek Recounts Desperate Moments Following Turning Point USA Founder’s Assassination.
In a powerful and emotional interview, Christian author Frank Turek provided a harrowing, moment-by-moment account of the frantic and ultimately futile effort to save the life of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. Kirk was fatally shot at a campus event in Utah last Wednesday, and Turek was with him in the chaotic moments that followed.
Fighting back tears, Turek described his close bond with Kirk, stating, “Charlie Kirk was literally like a son to me. I have three sons. He was like my fourth son.” This deep personal connection underscored the profound grief and desperation Turek recounted as he described the chaotic scramble to get Kirk to a hospital.
Turek detailed how, moments after the shooting, a black SUV became the epicenter of a frantic, last-ditch effort to save Kirk’s life. “I run over to the other side, but the guy was dragging him in. They start blocking that entrance. So at that point, I run around to the back,” Turek said. “I pop the back gate open, and I jump in the back.”
The car, Turek explained, lurched forward as they sped off, leaving the back gate open due to Kirk’s height. “We drove four miles… all the way to the hospital with the door open,” Turek recalled, painting a picture of a desperate race against time. Inside the vehicle, a small group of men, including Turek, tried to stanch the bleeding and perform CPR, all while praying for a miracle.
“I’m yelling, ‘come on, Charlie, come on,’” Turek said, describing the scene as two of the men worked to apply pressure to Kirk’s wounds. The urgency was palpable, but Turek soon realized the tragic reality. “Charlie wasn’t there. His eyes were fixed… He was looking past me right into eternity. He was with Jesus already. He was killed instantly and felt absolutely no pain,” Turek said he was told later.
Despite the devastating realization, they continued to work on him. “We were giving him CPR, but nothing was happening. It wasn’t like if we had better first aid… we could have saved him. We couldn’t,” Turek explained, emphasizing the catastrophic nature of the single rifle round that ended Kirk’s life.
Upon arrival at the hospital, medical staff worked on Kirk, and for a brief moment, hope flickered. “They did get a pulse back. And so Rick and I were just, everyone’s praying. We’re just praying for a miracle. We had a small sliver of hope,” Turek said.
However, the surgeon soon delivered the final, heartbreaking news. “The shot was catastrophic. So 20 or 30 minutes later, the surgeon came out and said he was dead.”
The FBI has launched a manhunt for the suspect, identified as Tyler Robinson, who allegedly fired the fatal shot from the roof of the UVU’s Losee Center. Turek’s vivid and emotional testimony provides a tragic human dimension to the shocking assassination, highlighting the deep personal loss felt by those close to Charlie Kirk.
READ: Sinclair’s ABC Stations To Air Charlie Kirk Special In ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ Timeslot
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