Frank Turek Shares Harrowing Account of Charlie Kirk's Final Moments After Assassination
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Frank Turek Shares Harrowing Account of Charlie Kirk's Final Moments After Assassination
Frank Turek, Charlie Kirk's friend and mentor, provides a heartbreaking firsthand account of the frantic moments after Charlie was shot. Standing just 25 feet away when the shot rang out, Frank jumped into the SUV and tried desperately to save Charlie's life during the chaotic rush to the hospital. In this emotional testimony, Frank describes Charlie's final moments, the heroic efforts of his security team, and the profound faith that defined Charlie's life and ministry. As the nation mourns, Frank reflects on Charlie's message that 'politics is peanuts compared to Jesus' and how Charlie's legacy of faith continues to impact thousands around the world.
Frank Turek, renowned Christian apologist and mentor to Charlie Kirk, describes Charlie as "literally like a son to me." With three sons of his own slightly older than Charlie, Frank considered him his fourth son. When the shot rang out, Frank's paternal instincts took over completely. "If your son got hit, what would you do?" he asks. "I could not just say take him, you guys got it. If there was any way I could save him, I had to do something."
The Frantic Rush to Save a Life
Frank describes the chaotic scene as Charlie's security team worked to get him into their SUV. "I'm on one side of the car, the right side, they are getting Charlie in so I run to the other side but the guy was dragging him in blocking the entrance so then I run to the back, pop the top, the back gate open and I jump in the back."
The vehicle lurched forward before Frank could properly get in, nearly throwing him from the back of the SUV. He grabbed hold and closed the gate as five people crammed into the vehicle: Justin driving, Dan in the front with GPS navigation, Rick and Brian in the back with Charlie, and Frank coming over the back seat. Charlie was so tall they couldn't close the door—they drove all the way to the hospital with it open.
"To this day I don't know how Brian stayed in the car because we are just go, go, go," Frank recalls. The team worked desperately to stop the bleeding while Frank yelled "Come on, Charlie, come on." His phone was still connected, and his son and daughter-in-law heard everything unfolding in real time.
A Security Team's Devotion
Frank praises Charlie's security detail, describing how they loved Charlie deeply and remained remarkably composed under unimaginable pressure. "They were much cooler than I was, calmly but swiftly doing what they were trained to do." Rick started praying out loud, Frank joined in prayer, and they continued navigating through surface streets, beeping the horn at intersections in a vehicle with no emergency lights.
At one point, an ambulance came toward them. There was brief discussion about whether to stop, but they decided to keep going. The doctor later confirmed this was the right decision. Someone in the car said, "Let's get there in one piece," as they cut through intersections in their desperate race against time.
The Moment Charlie Passed Into Eternity
Frank attempted to start CPR, but he knew something was profoundly wrong. "Charlie was not there. His eyes were fixed. He was not looking at me, he was looking past me right into eternity. He was with Jesus already."
The two security personnel on either side of Charlie performed heroic work trying to stop the bleeding, remaining calmer than Frank as they applied their training. But Charlie's eyes were dilated and fixed, looking right through Frank.
Frank later learned from the surgeon that Charlie died instantly. "The only comfort was that he did not suffer," Frank says. The medical team at the hospital did manage to restart Charlie's heart briefly, but only because Charlie was a healthy young man. The injury was catastrophic. "It wasn't like if we had better medical attention or if we were a little bit faster getting to the hospital that it would have made a difference. Charlie died instantly. He was with Jesus, absent from the body, present with the Lord."
The Events Leading Up to the Tragedy
This was the first event Frank attended with Charlie on his college campus tour. Charlie had invited Frank specifically because he wanted to improve his ability to answer challenging questions from students—something Frank specializes in during his own campus visits. They spent considerable time together refining their answers to common objections and questions about faith.
Frank was standing 25 feet off Charlie's right elbow when the shot rang out. Earlier, as they arrived at the venue, Frank had expressed concern. They had reviewed drone footage from an hour before, and Frank told Charlie, "I don't like this place, there's too many buildings."
But Charlie was brave and shrugged off the concern. He knew thousands of people were there waiting, and he wanted to minister to them. "You cannot minister to people by staying safe all the time," Frank explains. "You have to extend yourself in order to do that, in order to minister to people, and so Charlie did that."
A Legacy Defined by Faith, Not Politics
Frank emphasizes that everyone on Charlie's security detail would have died to save him because they loved him. The irony isn't lost on Frank: "That was Charlie's message to the world, that Jesus died because He loves us. And by trusting in Him, we can not only be forgiven but we can be given His righteousness."
In the wake of Charlie's death, people around the world are rediscovering that life means more than entertainment, money, sex, or power. "You are going to be dead a lot longer than you are going to be alive," Frank observes. "Jesus came to save us from our own iniquity, our own sin. That was Charlie's message."
Frank recalls that Charlie said something profound not long before his death: "Politics is peanuts compared to Jesus." While Charlie was deeply interested in politics and understood its importance in protecting innocent people from evil, he kept eternal perspective. "In light of eternity, the most important message, and it's where Charlie is now, is to be forgiven and given the righteousness of Christ. That was his message."
Charlie's Impact on Relationships and Faith
Following the assassination, many Americans went back to watch Charlie's content with fresh eyes. His discussions with his wife Erika about relationships stand out—giving advice to young people about things they don't normally hear on college campuses. He spoke about how to treat others, how to have healthy relationships, and how men should treat women. His guidance was deep, profound, and completely consistent with his deeply held Christian faith.
Erika Kirk Takes Leadership of Turning Point USA
In breaking news, Erika Kirk, Charlie's widow and mother of their two young children, has been elected CEO and Chair of the Board of Turning Point USA. According to a statement from the organization, this move is in accordance with wishes Charlie frequently expressed before his death.
A Mentor's Grief
Frank's grief is palpable as he reflects on witnessing something no one should have to see. The trauma of holding Charlie in those final moments, of seeing his eyes fixed on eternity, of trying desperately to save someone he loved like a son—these are wounds that will take time to heal. Yet through it all, Frank maintains the same eternal perspective that Charlie exemplified: the assurance of resurrection, the promise of seeing him again, and the knowledge that Charlie's greatest passion wasn't politics or activism, but sharing the message of Jesus Christ with a generation desperately in need of hope.
