Nearly 200 witnesses to Charlie Kirk shooting apply for victims' benefits in Utah

It wasn't until she saw the size of the crowd gathering at Utah Valley University that senior Hazel Kynaston understood the significance of who Charlie Kirk was. "We just used our lunch break that we had in between two classes to go down and kind of see this event," she said. She admitted she had never heard of him, he simply didn't cross her algorithm. But campus police estimate about 6,000 students had gathered on Sept. 10, 2025, to hear the conservative activist field questions from students in the open Q&A forum he had become famous for. Kynaston realised his presence was a big deal, and fought through the "pretty intense" crowd with her friend to get near the front.

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Scoop News DeskUtah · Published Tuesday, September 1, 2026 at 4:01 AM UTCUpdated Wednesday, September 2, 2026 at 4:46 AM UTC

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Kynaston, along with hundreds of other students who witnessed Kirk's death, are seeking help from the state to pay for mental health and trauma support. "It was a moment that I can never get back," she said. "You know, like what I witnessed and like the fear and the adrenaline and the inexplicable feeling of I'm next." Utah Office for Victims of Crime Director Chyleen Richey said in the days following the shooting, at least 500 witnesses approached her office seeking compensation for things like mental health counseling. Robinson has yet to enter a plea to the charges, which include aggravated murder and six other counts.

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