Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative activist and Turning Point USA co-founder, was fatally shot during his American Comeback Tour at Utah Valley University on Wednesday afternoon.
With Brigham Young University only a short ten minutes away from the UVU campus, students were alarmed.
"I was there yesterday. It's just so bizarre to be there," said Beatriz Nascimento, a BYU student from Brazil. "As an international student, I always heard of the culture of heavy shooting in the States ... I just don't feel safe.”
BYU students reported being shocked to have a terrible tragedy happen so close by.
“I can only imagine how traumatic that would be to watch that happen,” Eve d'Evegnee, a sophomore at BYU, said.
Students said their confidence in the campus they call home during their undergraduate years and beyond has been compromised.
“I feel like school is a place you already put a lot of trust in … that is so sad, and that someone would breach that trust … we're sending prayers,” Selena Dutton, a junior in the experience design program, said.
UVU student ambassador Natalie Jones found out about the shooting while on the bus on her way to campus.
“I feel terrible that my classmates had to be there and witness it — some of them were saying they were literally five feet away,” Natalie Jones said. "I'm just praying for all the people that were there, especially my other classmates that had to witness that firsthand."
Upon finding out, she took a detour to BYU campus to be with her sister, Naomi Sanchez.
"I got so worried,” said Sanchez. “[Natalie] told me she was safe but I didn't know what was going on. It was very scary, it's just awful."
The shooting happened at approximately 12:20 p.m. while many BYU students were in class. Aiden Jones was in her sociology class where phones were strictly forbidden. The only alerts she received were from her friend’s watch notifications.
"I didn't really register it at first, and then she told me, and I was like, ‘oh my gosh,’ I was just in shock," Aiden Jones said.
Despite being so close to UVU campus, Aiden Jones said that she felt relatively safe.
"I would say I feel safe right now, but I am concerned for what it means for our political state and climate," Aiden Jones said.
Regardless of political stance, students expressed their dismay upon learning about the shooting.
“Although I don’t agree with the majority of what Charlie Kirk says, nobody deserves to be shot like that,” Andres Chavez said.
A couple of hours after the shooting, BYU sent out a Y-alert to all the students and faculty informing them that campus was not on lockdown, but the situation was being closely monitored.
"I didn't see that [Y alert] until way later ... I would've loved to have that sooner and more readily available, especially since a lot of us were at work or at school, we weren't actively on our phones,” Gabby Wilson, a BYU student, said.
BYU has responded by implementing an increased police presence in the public areas on campus.
“Seeing the police officer come by just now … it made me feel more secure to be here and just knowing that there was a response at all,” Aiden Jones said.
As of late Wednesday afternoon, police at a UVU press conference said they were still searching for a person of interest in connection with the shooting.
Additional contributors: Melissa Een, Sariah Francis, Ellie Haverlock, Haley McIlroy, Jessica Neal, Pedro Louza Schmeil, Emmeline Schow, Emily Walker