Erika Kirk Recounts the Devastating Day Her Husband Charlie Kirk Was Assassinated

For Erika Kirk, discovering that her husband Charlie Kirk had been shot was described as an "unbelievable nightmare" - a moment forever etched in her memory.

Turning Point USA CEO Erika Kirk recounted the devastating moment to Fox News host Jesse Watters, saying, "I'll never forget. I'm just being like, 'Charlie's been shot. He's been shot. Get the kids. Get security. Get the kids. Get the kids. He's been shot.' I sprinted out of her treatment centre, just collapsed in the middle of the parking lot, called our security. Unbelievable nightmare."

Charlie Kirk, the right-wing activist who founded Turning Point USA, was fatally shot on September 10 during an event in Utah. His alleged assailant, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, faces first-degree murder charges and could potentially receive the death penalty by firing squad if convicted.

Erika shared heartbreaking details about the morning of the assassination. She explained that Charlie had departed early from their Arizona home to travel to Utah. The night before his trip, she had suggested he sleep in their daughter's room to ensure he got proper rest before his scheduled event.

With evident emotion, she recalled, "That morning he woke up super early, and he came into our bedroom, into the bathroom, because that's where his wedding ring was and his necklace, and he came in and he grabbed that and then he left. I didn't get to give him a kiss."

After Charlie was transported to the hospital and pronounced dead, medical staff and police suggested Erika wait to see her husband until after his body was moved to the mortuary. She firmly refused this suggestion.

"I said, 'With all due respect, sir, I want to see what they did to my husband, and I want to give him a kiss, because I didn't get to give him a kiss this morning.'"

When finally seeing her husband in the hospital bed, Erika noticed something distinctive. "He had this smirk on his face," she told the outlet. "That smirk. To me, it was the look that said, 'You thought you could stop what I've built. You thought you could end this vision, this movement, this revival. You thought you could do that by murdering me. You got my body, but you didn't get my soul.'"

Despite experiencing such profound loss, Erika emphasized that she refuses to live in fear - a principle she and Charlie shared throughout their lives. "I'm not afraid, Charlie wasn't afraid either. We never lived in fear. If we did, we wouldn't get anything done," she explained to Watters.