Days after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during an event at Utah Valley University, a group of University of Maryland students gathered to support each other and mourn his death.
They handed out fake candles and lined the rows of the Garden Chapel. Harshit Garg, who was president of the campus’ Turning Point USA chapter from 2021 to 2024, said the vigil was planned to provide a sense of closure.
“This vigil is much less for political performance,” Garg said. “It’s to honor the life that Charlie Kirk had lived, the debates that he had on campus, the openness that he had to ensuring no matter who you are, no matter where you come from or how you got to college, that you had a voice at the table.”
The vigil was planned by the university’s Turning Point USA chapter and College Republicans. It was shared on social media with the goal of “just hoping to get that conversation going,” Garg said.
The event came the same day officials announced 22-year-old Tyler Robinson had been arrested and charged in connection with Kirk’s death. Officials said Robinson told a family member he was responsible for the shooting.
Alex Grutzkuhn said while he didn’t admire Kirk’s work, he showed up to “give respect to the dead, give respect to his family and give respect to supporters all across America.”
A woman who asked not to be named publicly because of work restrictions said Kirk inspired her and “a lot of my generation.” She said she found out about the incident during a class.
“If we can just shoot people we don’t like, then there’s no freedom in this country,” she said.
Kirk’s death was shocking for Ben Zullo, who didn’t think “anything like that would really happen beyond important political figures, maybe presidential candidates, that seemed a little bit more normal than this.”
“I would hope … there would be a unifying issue of, we can’t stand for political violence. Something about our discourse needs to change so that violent actions like this don’t take place,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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