STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Charlie Kirk was killed on a college campus in front of several thousand people, mostly college students. So how are students responding? NPR's Saige Miller spoke with students at Utah Valley University and nearby Brigham Young University.
SAIGE MILLER, BYLINE: Jeb Jacobi (ph) is a member of Utah Valley University's Turning Point USA chapter. Kirk founded the national organization, and the student group invited him to speak on campus.
JEB JACOBI: When I came in, I felt really good. I was there to volunteer. I was helping out. I was setting up.
MILLER: Soon after the event started, he witnessed Kirk get shot while sitting in the courtyard. It's a moment he's still trying to untangle.
JACOBI: I'm seeing a therapist right now and helping work through it. And it's just - like, I've never witnessed anything like this in my life. I literally watched a man die in front of me.
MILLER: Utah Valley student Koby Herriera (ph) also attended the Kirk event and saw the shooting. He thinks the assassination will amplify Kirk's messages even more.
KOBY HERRIERA: It makes me want to be louder, and especially as young people, that's what Charlie Kirk wants.
MILLER: At BYU, about a 10-minute drive from Utah Valley, freshman Lexi Larsen was sitting on the grass doing her chemistry homework. Larsen is a fan of Kirk, but she wasn't entirely surprised by the shooting.
LEXI LARSEN: I think it makes me sad that I'm not more shocked by it. I think that's probably the saddest part about it is that that's kind of just the world that we're living in right now, I guess.
MILLER: Next to Larsen was freshman Brittney Simagna (ph). She didn't know of Kirk before his death, but she believes it signifies how polarized America is.
BRITTNEY SIMAGNA: America stands for liberty and freedom and stands for strength and courage. But if we're divided like we are, then we can't stand for that.
MILLER: Kirk was considered influential with young conservatives. He rose to political fame by visiting college campuses and debating students.
Saige Miller, NPR News.
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