Who was Charlie Kirk?published at 17:03 BST
17:03 BST
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The son of an architect who grew up in the well-to-do Chicago suburb of Prospect Heights, Kirk attended an Illinois community college before dropping out to devote himself to political activism.
He also applied unsuccessfully for West Point, the elite US military academy. Kirk often referred tongue-in-cheek to his lack of a college degree when debating students and academics on esoteric topics such as post-modernism.
He was an avid public speaker, touring the country addressing Republican events, many of which were popular with members of the ultra-conservative Tea Party movement, and his daily talk radio show had millions of followers on social media.
Turning Point, which he started at age 18, aimed to spread conservative ideals at liberal-leaning US colleges.
The event at Utah Valley University, where he was gunned down, was the first stop on a planned 15-event “American Comeback Tour” of college campuses, where attendees were invited to argue with Kirk.