Utah Valley University mourns Charlie Kirk as campus reopens after assassination: ‘Extremely traumatic’

Orem, Utah Charlie Kirk Students were assassinated on Tuesday on the Utah Valley University campus and said Tuesday to Fox News Digital Digital that the campus felt “terror” and “SORBER”.

“This is where we develop our lives further and maybe where we end,” said UVU student James Whitney, who told Fox News that authorities “have found guns in my parents’ backyard.”

Investigators found a “bolt action rifle” in the forest area at the northeast end of the campus, but authorities have not confirmed the exact location yet, according to charging documents by suspect Tyler Robinson.

Kirk was shot for a week While asking questions Courses from UVU students, Orem campus resumed Wednesday. As students return to campus to pay tribute to Kirk and return to the classroom, many are still dealing with what they call “very traumatic” events.

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Afton Miller, a UVU student, said she was shot and killed 5 to 10 feet from Kirk, told Fox News Digital that she said on her first return to the assassination site: “No one should be able to say that I have witnessed a school shooting, let alone assassinate one of your greatest heroes.”

Kirk, 31, was shot dead while talking to a UVU student on Wednesday, Sept. 10. Robinson, 22, was arrested for assassinating Kirk after 33 hours of pursuit. Grey overview Formal charges Robinson was followed by the suspect’s first appearance in court at a press conference Tuesday.

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The memorial began a few days after the shooting, with sparse bouquets and some signs of memorializing Kirk on the outside campus now filling the entire grass outside campus. On campus, a few steps away from Kirk’s shooting, there are more tributes Growing during the day As students and locals solemnly walked through the courtyard to pay tribute.

UVU student Jessie Ball told Fox News Digital that she witnessed her friends and classmates, including atheists, return to pray in the days after the assassination. UVU will host a campus and community-wide vigil on Friday to “integrate, rehabilitate and reaffirm shared values.”

“A lot of people like me, who are afraid to speak loudly, we’ve got a little bit because we think his message is important,” Ball said of Kirk.

Ryder Warner, a UVU student, was on campus at the time Kirk was shotSaid: “It’s just hard for everyone on campus.”

“I think it’s particularly difficult because there are people cheering and it really disappoints you,” he said. “You lose confidence in this country.”

“I don’t think anyone should be killed for their opinions,” Warner added.

Asked last Wednesday that his view on Kirk politics was a source of debate, Whitney told Fox News numbers that he tried to stay away from politics because “it’s usually what ends up happening.”

He said he chose to keep a political view of himself because political violence is “normalizing” and when people disagree, they try to bring it to everyone else. ”

Trae Stevens grew up on a Spanish fork about an hour south of campus and visited Tuesday Respect his respect Because “it’s really scary to see this happening very close to home.”

“Like Charlie said, silence creates violence,” Stevens said. “I think it’s important to address emotions before you address dialogue and policy, because in the end, that’s what drives this – emotion.”

Miller said Kirk was one of her heroes, and he said that through this tragedy, “we must get close to each other to God.”

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“There is one reason we are being brought to this point, and that’s why we are going to keep moving forward,” she said.