India, Sept. 11 -- Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot and killed on Wednesday local time at Utah Valley University in what officials described as a rooftop political assassination.

Witnesses described chaos and panic as the gunfire erupted during Kirk's presentation before a crowd of several thousand.

Raydon Dechene, 51, was seated in the front row when the shot was fired. "He was in the middle of a sentence," Dechene told People. "All of a sudden I heard a pop and I saw his head fall back and blood pouring out of his neck."

Follow Charlie Kirk live news updates

Dechene said the gunfire seemed to come from behind the audience. "Everybody ducked and then somebody said, 'Run!'" she r...