Overview

• Deseret News reporters covering the Utah Valley University event said they heard a gunshot during a student Q&A and that Kirk appeared to be struck in the neck.
• Reporters described the exchange preceding the shot as centered on mass shootings, including a question about how many shooters were transgender.
• Snopes confirmed that in April 2023 at a TPUSA Faith event in Salt Lake City, Kirk said it was “worth” the cost of some gun deaths to preserve the Second Amendment, verifying the quote via archived video, audio, and a Media Matters transcript.
• Following the UVU shooting, the 2023 remark was widely recirculated on Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, TikTok, and X, according to Snopes’ documentation.
• Commentary noted the 2023 statement came shortly after the Nashville Covenant School killings and referenced Gun Violence Archive data on the pace of U.S. mass shootings.