TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A celebration of life for Charlie Kirk was held Tuesday night at the University of Arizona's Bear Down Gymnasium.
The memorial was led by Turning Point USA, U of A chapter.
Hundreds of people showed up to remember Kirk and reflect on his impact.
Jason Mckibben, U of A alumnus and pastor of Remnant of Tucson, attended the event and says he admires Kirk for how he lived his life.
“You know that was a guy who had very strong faith and very bold faith and so I aspire to that and I look at that very fondly," McKibben said. "And I want more of that in my life."
Speeches, chants, and moments of silence were held to honor Kirk.
Make America Great Again hats were even thrown out to the crowd.
Lauren Cerrone, U of A freshman, says she thought the memorial was beautiful and appreciated how it was about more than politics.
“People don’t 100 percent agree with him but I think they agreed in what he stood for, which was speaking that truth of Jesus and speaking his thoughts and being able to have that freedom of speech, have conversations with people," Cerrone said.
She says when she found out about his loss, she immediately thought of his family — and she knows she wasn’t the only one.
“Look how many people came tonight. Right? Look how many people came to church. Like this whole thing just uproared and it’s so beautiful to see so many people care,” Cerrone said.
People who attended are calling it a heavy week, but are grateful to be able to come together in a dark time.
“We just wanna be closer to the people and mourn with people and so anything like this we want to be a part of and just share in those feelings," McKibben said.
Turning Point USA will be holding a public memorial service at Statefarm Stadium on Sunday September21. Doors open at 8 a.m.
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Vanessa Gongora is KGUN 9's Westside reporter.. Vanessa fell in love with storytelling by growing up in sports. She was fascinated by how sports reporters go beyond the x's & o's to tell players' stories, and how sports bring people together, inspiring Vanessa to provide the same impact as a journalist. Share your story ideas and important issues with Vanessa by emailing vanessa.gongora@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
