(NEXSTAR) — President Donald Trump has announced that he will posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot while speaking at an event in Utah on Wednesday.

Kirk, 31, was hit by a single gunshot believed to have been fired from the roof of a nearby building at Utah Valley University. He was rushed to a local hospital in a private vehicle, where he was later pronounced dead, authorities confirmed.

Kirk co-founded Turning Point in 2012 to proselytize on college campuses for low taxes and limited government. Despite early misgivings, Turning Point enthusiastically backed Trump after he clinched the GOP nomination in 2016. Kirk served as a personal aide to Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son, during the general elect

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