A high-powered rifle. A crowded tent full of people. And a single bullet that somehow didn’t keep going.
For the folks standing right behind Charlie Kirk that day, his body might have been their unexpected protector in his last seconds.
Honored as a True Trailblazer of His Time
Just yesterday, a huge crowd packed into State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, to remember Charlie Kirk—and it included some of the biggest names in the country. President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Charlie’s wife, Erika, all stepped up to share their thoughts during a ceremony that was equal parts heartbreak, inspiration, and deep feeling.
Trump called him a “giant of his generation” and said the whole country is still reeling in “shock and mourning.” Vance talked about how Kirk had truly “shifted the path of history.” But it was Erika’s emotional plea for everyone to “turn to Christ”—and her incredible choice to forgive the person who took her husband’s life—that got the entire place standing and clapping through their tears.
A Rifle With Roots in Both World Wars
The 31-year-old conservative leader was shot on September 10 while giving a speech at a Turning Point USA gathering at Utah Valley University.
Law enforcement later disclosed that the gun involved wasn’t your everyday hunting piece—it could have been an old, hard-to-trace relic from way back.
Prosecutors say it’s a Mauser Model 98 in .30-06 caliber, a bolt-action rifle originally made in Germany and put to use in huge numbers during World War I and II.
Mauser Model 98 / Shutterstock
Officials pointed out that this thing might even be from before the 1968 U.S. law—passed right after JFK’s assassination—that made serial numbers mandatory on all guns. That means piecing together where it came from or who owned it before could be a real dead end.
A report from the ATF says rifles like this hardly ever show up in criminal cases these days.
“I Just Talked to the Surgeon…”
In the wake of Charlie Kirk’s tragic passing, one more jaw-dropping fact has come to light: medical pros think his own body might have kept others safe from the same fate.
The doctor who fought to save him said the bullet didn’t act like it was supposed to. Rather than blasting right through, it got stuck in his neck.
“I just spoke with the surgeon who worked on Charlie in the hospital… He said the bullet ‘absolutely should have gone through, which is very very normal for a high powered, high velocity round. I’ve seen wounds from this caliber many times and they always just go through everything. This would have taken a moose or two down, an elk, etc.,’” shared Andrew Kolvet, a spokesperson for TPUSA, on X.
Kolvet went on: “But it didn’t go through. Charlie’s body stopped it.”
The surgeon apparently mentioned that Kirk’s bones were unusually strong, which might explain it.
“It was an absolute miracle that someone else didn’t get killed. His bone was so healthy and the density was so so impressive that he’s like the man of steel. It should have just gone through and through. It likely would have killed those standing behind him too,” the doc explained.
“I Don’t Think He’d Ever Fired a Shot”
Kolvet also noted that the coroner found the bullet still embedded right under Kirk’s skin.
“Even in death, Charlie managed to save the lives of those around him,” he posted.
The FBI has confirmed that their main suspect, Tyler Robinson, is behind bars after his own dad—a registered Republican—turned him in. But Robinson’s grandma is adamant they’ve got it all wrong.
“I don’t think he ever shot a gun, to tell you the truth,” Debbie Robinson, 61, told the Daily Mail. “He doesn’t hunt, he’s never liked anything like that. I know he doesn’t own any guns. There’s just no way he could have been that good of a shot.”
Before getting caught, Robinson supposedly laughed with buddies about the grainy FBI photos showing a skinny guy in a hat and shades.
