Hunter Kozak, the Utah Valley University undergraduate student who asked Charlie Kirk a question before he was shot, says he was not worried for his own life in that moment but described what he witnessed as “visceral.”
Kozak told ABC News that “I was not worried for my life. It was just so visceral what I saw in front of me.”
Since the shooting death of Kirk on Wednesday, Kozak says that he has since reached out to the police and been questioned by the FBI.
Arriving to the event about half an hour before it began, Kozak says that he knew he wanted to ask Kirk a question and had a few different topics prepared. When he got to the event, he told a staff member that he disagreed with Kirk and had a question for him.
He was subsequently directed to a specific area where people who had questions were waiting. Kozak says staff came around asking the group for their questions and, when informed that they liked his question, he was told that he would be second up to the podium.
When Kozak got to the microphone, he says he was instructed not to touch it and estimates that he was about 5 to 10 feet away from Kirk.
Then the shot rang out.
A law enforcement officer stands guard in front of the tent where U.S. right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk was shot while speaking during a Utah Valley University event, in Orem, Utah, U.S. September 10, 2025, in this screen grab from social media video. VERIFICATION: – Location verified by the outline and design of the building that matched the file and satellite imagery of the area – Date verified by corroborating reports of the incident
Adam Bartholomew/@lifeisdriving /via Reuters
Kozak says when he heard the shot, he thought the gun was five feet behind his head but that he was very aware and in control. He says he immediately recognized that this was a possible assassination attempt and that he needed to get on the ground and find his wife, adding that he knew that he wasn’t a target but that he needed to get out of the vicinity.
Following the shooting, Kozak said there were police officers all over the campus and when he saw one taking notes, he went up to him to give his contact information, informing the officer that he was the person to last ask Kirk a question and that his wife had been recording a video, which she then sent to the authorities.
During the Utah governor’s press conference on Thursday, Kozak says a reporter asked about the man who asked the final question, and that the reporter said he needed to be questioned, prompting Kozak to go to police himself, again.
His father-in-law has since hired him an attorney and he has been questioned by the FBI, Kozak said.
“The vibe I got was that they weren’t really looking for me,” Kozak told ABC News, though he declined to go into specifics just in case it could obstruct the investigation.
Kozak, a TikTok content maker who is a father of two himself, says that he considers himself politically involved and progressive but the comments he has been receiving on his videos and the conspiracy theorists in the aftermath of Kirk’s death have frustrated him.
Kozak’s focus, he says, is on having continuous political conversations, something he believes he very much had in common with Kirk.
