Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Manhunt Ongoing For Shooter Who Murdered Charlie Kirk; Utah Governor Calls Charlie Kirk's Death A "Political Assassination"; Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk Shot and Killed in Utah; Trump Mourns Death of Conservative Activist Charlie Kirk; Manhunt Ongoing for Shooter Who Murdered Charlie Kirk; at Least Two Students Injured in Colorado School Shooting; South Korean Nationals Detained in Georgia Immigration Raid Released, Headed to Atlanta Airport for Repatriation Flight; Memorial Events Planned for 24th Anniversary of 9/11; Western Leaders Condemn Drone Incursion Into NATO Airspace; Qatari PM Casts Doubt on Ceasefire Talks, Fate of Hostages; Qatar Identifies Hamas Member Killed in Israeli Strike. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired September 11, 2025 - 02:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:28]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Welcome to everyone watching in the United States and all around the world. I'm Omar Jimenez, and this is CNN NEWSROOM.

The FBI is urging the public for help -- looking for the public's help, I should say, as they search for the person who shot and killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a college campus in Utah. Wednesday's attack in the middle of a packed outdoor event has drawn an outpouring of grief and anger and strong reactions from both Republicans and Democrats condemning yet another act of political violence in this country.

The 31-year-old Kirk was a hugely successful Republican youth organizer. He created the nonprofit Turning Point USA in 2012, a group President Donald Trump has credited as a major factor in his reelection to the White House last year.

Now, Kirk had been invited to speak at Utah Valley University, an event that drew hundreds of his supporters, and he was responding to a question about mass shooters when a single gunshot rang out, and I'm going to play you the moments leading up to the shooting, but I want to warn you, this video is disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?

CHARLIE KIRK, FOUNDER, TURNING POINT USA: Too many.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The number is five, OK. Now, five is a lot, right? I'm going to give you some credit. Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?

KIRK: Counting or not counting gang violence?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now we stopped the video, but that sound, obviously was the single gunshot, and the screams is everyone reacting afterwards.

After that gunshot was heard, Kirk's body went limp. He appeared to recoil backwards, seemingly shot in the neck, and officials believe only one person was involved in the shooting, and the FBI is asking anyone with photos or videos of the incident to come forward.

For now, authorities are scouring surveillance camera footage, with one official saying that's really all investigators have to work with at the moment.

President Trump meanwhile, as part of a video recorded in the Oval Office condemned the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This is a dark moment for America. Charlie Kirk traveled the nation, joyfully engaging with everyone interested in good faith debate. His mission was to bring young people into the political process, which he did better than anybody ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: CNN's Ed Lavandera is in Orem, Utah and joins us now live. Ed, I know all appears to be -- to be quiet behind you right now, but you've been out there for hours at this point. When you first got to the scene, what stood out to you as you -- as you saw campus there?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, it's interesting, Omar, because there's a sense of quiet here on this campus. And it has been for several hours, as much of it has been cordoned off. Campus life here has come to a -- to a standstill. It is now just after midnight here in Utah, this shooting took place almost 12 hours ago, and the calm and the sereneness that you see here and since on this camp -- on this campus, you know, belies the fact that there is a massive manhunt in an effort that we presumably will go on around the clock to find the suspect and the shooter in this attack here on this campus in Utah Valley University that happened almost 12 hours ago.

We can walk you through some of the chaotic moments after the shooting took place. We've learned from authorities here that there were two people detained, taken into questioning that suspected or believed to be possible persons of interest in the shooting, but that did not pan out. Both of those people have been released by authorities, and that just means that we are back to square one here, as investigators are desperately trying to find out who the shooter is, where he might have gone, and how he might have been able to flee from this campus.

This is a massive campus. More than 40,000 students attend school here. The shooting scene, Omar, just to kind of set the scene for you, if you see those buildings with the lights there in the background and these parking lots have been filled with law enforcement agents, FBI agents that we saw, but the shooting took place just on the other side of that building and the rooftop that has been a great deal of a focus of attention.

[02:05:03]

There in the distance, you might see kind of some lights and a pyramid looking structure that is the rooftop area where investigators have been focused intently because of a video -- of video that showed someone running across a rooftop there. We do not know if that was the actual shooter, but that is part of the investigative process. That is why authorities here have set up a tip line for the videos and any other kind of information that people might have seen anything out of the ordinary in the moments before the shooting took place.

But still in that area, presumably an active crime scene. We have seen a number of law enforcement agents who have left here at this late hour, but the search for this suspect continues.

I should also lay out kind of a scene here. We're on the southern edge of the campus. There's a main thoroughfare street that kind of runs past us here, and there's an interstate on the western edge of the campus.

And significant because that does allow for some, you know, quick escape routes, if that is indeed what might have happened in the ability for this gunman to elude being captured here in the moments after this shooting. So, something to kind of think about and consider when you -- when you think of the terrain and the landscape here that this gunman was operating under.

But right now, we have no indication that authorities are any closer to capturing this suspect. The governor here in Utah vows that this person will not get away with this crime, and that the manhunt here continues here at this late hour, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Ed Lavandera appreciate the reporting. Thank you for being there.

Now, earlier, CNN spoke with a witness who described the chaos that broke out after the shooting, and he said he was on a walkway overlooking the crowd, but he couldn't quite see where the shot came from.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DALLIN SMITH, SHOOTING WITNESS: It was definitely a little bit surreal. You know, it was -- we heard two, two pops, and we ran. And some, a lot of people ran with us. When I was standing by the door, kind of overseeing what was happening is some people were standing there, still taking videos.

So, I went back out to look over the railing to see, like, maybe someone just did some firecrackers, something like that. But more and more people were screaming, crying, dispersing super quickly from the scene. More and more people were headed Charlie's way and yes, just pure craziness.

And then after getting back into the building, just tons of people flooding to go outside, get away from the scene, a lot of tears, a lot of phone calls.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: I want to bring in Jason Pack, a retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent and an active first responder as well. Jason, I guess, just from a law enforcement perspective, what sticks out to you about how this happened here?

JASON PACK, RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: Omar, as Ed mentioned in his piece before, while it looks like there's not much going on on the scene there, I'm pretty sure there's quite a bit going on behind the scenes.

Agents and analysts from the FBI, the ATF, HSI, all the federal agencies, they're partnering with Utah County and state authorities, and they're doing things like bringing in expertise from the FBI's Evidence Response Team. Some of those teams could come from Quantico, from the FBI lab. They have expertise in shooting reconstruction, where they'll use high tech equipment and the latest to get the trajectory of where the shot actually came from, to help pinpoint exactly where they should be looking for additional evidence.

Additionally, there's also the manhunt aspect of this. So, while there's a fast-paced manhunt looking for the person or people who might have done this, there's also a slow, methodical look and to see exactly what evidence needs to be collected.

Unlike some cases, there's still a prosecution on the table for this particular case, so agents and analysts and evidence custodians have to be really careful here as they go step by step.

I think the biggest thing you'll see in the next 24 hours is a video canvas, and they're going to have to match some of these statements from the witnesses, like in the sound bite just before the hit here, to the evidence that they have.

So, they'll be trying to find any piece of information they can to kind of help put this piece together. They're no stranger to it. They've done it quite a bit. And the greatest weapon law enforcement has is the cooperation with each other and then the trust and understanding of the American public.

So, we've seen time and again, the public has provided that key tip to match up with this outstanding law enforcement work. And there's no reason to believe that won't happen here.

JIMENEZ: You know, and as you talked about here. You know, there's what happened in the moment. And of course, as you mentioned, a lot of people analyzing what they can get from the scene and where this shot originated from, what they can find on that front but also trying to bring this shooter into custody.

But as we heard from Ed and as we know just looking at the time, I mean, it has been hours and hours since this -- since this happened, since Charlie Kirk was killed as well. I guess, just how much more complicated does this get for law enforcement out -- as the hours go on? And where does law enforcement even start that process with what appears to have been a long distance shot like this?

[02:10:11]

PACK: Well, you start at the shooting itself and then work your way back. And so, if this is a planned shooting for instance, they're going to -- they're want to go to look and see, did this person come before? Was there somebody on campus before? So that requires additional video canvases on all the means of egress or the way out. Are there cameras in neighborhoods or businesses nearby?

So, they'll be trying to put teams together to do all of this type of work tomorrow, at first light, they're probably doing it right now. They've set up a joint operation center where all the agencies are under one roof, sharing intelligence, and they usually have briefs every 12 hours to kind of keep up to date with what's going on and what the investigative priorities are.

So, there's a lot of work to do, but there are a lot of people there to do the work.

JIMENEZ: You know, I think when folks that you speak to in the security space look at something like this. You know, even from an outsider, I might say, well, how did this happen? How can we ensure this this doesn't happen again?

And you know, when president -- when we saw the assassination attempt on President Trump's life in Butler, Pennsylvania, obviously, the Secret Service had to then go through and figure out, how did this happen? This completely different scenario, not run by the Secret Service, obviously.

But you can imagine universities do want to continue hosting talks like this from either political leaders, thought leaders, whatever it might be. Can you just walk us through some of the difficulties in trying to secure an open-air event like this, and how that might change how events like this are organized in the future, or do you anticipate them to change in the future?

PACK: Oh, that's a good question. I think security is always a balance of risk. So, you ask the organizers, they want everything to be open, and all the people who do security want to lock everything down and eliminate as much risk as possible. So, it's a balance between that, I think, at the heart of these types of conversations that were happening.

In this particular case, you wanted somebody to be able to come up and talk freely and openly and respectfully and share differences of opinion, if you have to, so that and it was part of the whole experience, I believe.

So, it's going to be difficult, I know. I'm sure college campuses and other venues around the country will take a second look. Sometimes it's hard. Campus police are not often staffed with very many officers compared to a city or a state, those types of things, so it would definitely strain resources to do every scenario, to plan for every scenario like that.

But it's definitely something they're going to take a look at. I'm sure, moving forward, you always have lessons learned from these types of things. But again, it's a balance of risk management out there.

JIMENEZ: And before we go, you know, you talked about trying to make sure you get as much information as you can from the from the folks that were there. This obviously happened in front of a large crowd. Does that help an investigation like this, or does it complicate things more when you have so many people in a space like that, that sure complicates the crime scene, so to speak, but also could potentially give you more opportunities for leads.

PACK: It's definitely helpful to know every little bit of information. We don't know what the investigators know. Clearly they're not telling the public everything. They don't ever do that, usually.

And so, the piece of information that may get reported, that may seem minor or minuscule to the average observer or the member of the public may just be that piece that they need. And that's why the FBI set up their tip line.

I remember in the Boston Marathon bombings, the same amount of, you know, the leads and tips that were coming in, they had to set up a special website to be able to upload video. Back then, we weren't really ready for that back then.

Since then, they've made great strides, and they're able to upload videos, I think, up to five vids. So, they're able to take that, and that's a way for people who were there to self-report, and the analysts can go through and check those leads and make sure that they've all been interviewed or spoken to, if they have information that's of value to them.

So, definitely it's important, if you were there, go to tips.fbi.gov or call 1-800-call-FBI and just either fill out the form online or call in and say you were there and just make sure that the police are able to speak with you.

And they're again matching those stories and that information that they get to the evidence they collect and the search warrants they'll be riding, undoubtedly, for phones, for cell towers, all the types of things that the investigators are going to be doing to try to get that first break in the case. JIMENEZ: Jason Pack, appreciate the time and perspective. Thanks for being here.

PACK: Thanks, Omar.

JIMENEZ: Earlier, I spoke with CNN Senior Political Analyst Ron Brownstein about the shooting and his reactions to the aftermath. Here's some of our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Ron Brownstein It is a terrible tragedy. No one anywhere, certainly not in the U.S., should be a target of violence for their political views.

But it is, unfortunately, a reflection of a larger reality that we are living in. I remember the day after January 6th, a senior official in the Trump Department of Homeland Security said to me that we are transitioning into our own American version of the troubles from Northern Ireland, where political violence is much more common, much more of a backbeat to our lives than it had been at any point you know, in our -- in our history.

[02:15:21]

And we are seeing horrific events follow together much closely -- much more closely than you know, than in the past. We have seen dark periods like this before. We've come out of them, whether it was the assassinations of the late '60s or the many bombings, 2500 bombings in the U.S. in 1970 and '71, we can get to the other side.

But it is not going to be easy, and it really will require an effort from leadership on all sides of the political divides to, you know, tone down the rhetoric and tone down the way they think about the other side. But you know, that -- there's no reason to think that's where we're headed.

JIMENEZ: I mean, what do you make of what -- in large part, I'll say in large part, has seemed to be condemnation on both sides of the aisle here, because, look, you can't control what everybody is saying online, including powering certain algorithms and things of that nature.

But when you have Gavin Newsom, in a sense, on the same page in many respects, as President Donald Trump, I just wonder what you make of what we're seeing in reaction to the shooting from the political space?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, I actually think Trump's an outlier here. So, let's come back to that. I mean, you know, Trump's comments tonight were much more as the leader of a faction than the leader of a nation. I mean, I think historically, almost anybody else was sat in that job for American history would think their job, their responsibility this moment, was to bring the country together.

And Trump just basically channeled some of you know, his version of what you are hearing online, the fury of the Republican base about and the conservative base about this happening, didn't mention that, you know, there are plenty of democratic targets that have been the target of violence, whether it was the murder of the Minnesota state legislature -- legislator, or what was aimed at Josh Shapiro and Gretchen Whitmer and the CDC days ago.

This is not a problem unique to one side of the political spectrum. It is -- it is a -- it is that we have crossed some kind of Rubicon where violence is seen by more people still obviously a fringe as a way to express political disagreement.

And you know, pulling out of a spiral like that is not easy, and it really requires the investment of all elements of society, and it becomes impossible if you have the loudest megaphone of all being used to essentially fan the flames by, you know, ignoring the comprehensive nature of this and blaming one side and saying that they are the cause of the violence.

We all need a way to step back from the brink without diminishing the very real disagreements we have. You know, the question is, do we want to continue to go down this path? Because there is nothing good at the end of it.

JIMENEZ: And you know, as you've talked about, we have seen a number of attacks on political figures on both sides of the political aisle in recent years, too many, and we had -- we just ran a graphic showing even just some of the folks that were -- that were targeted -- that have been targeted as of late.

But I just wonder, how do you characterize where the United States is political climate is right now?

BROWNSTEIN: Look, we are -- we are in a moment where we are not only deeply polarized as a country, but a large share of the voters on each side view victory for the other as not only kind of the ebb and flow of politics, but an existential threat to their vision of what America has been and should be.

And in an environment there are more people willing to kind of say, any means necessary to, you know, advance their cause. It does no one any good to diminish the degree of difference that we have and the degree of disagreement between the two coalitions.

But you know, as I like to say, in any other aspect of your life, a disagreement is where the conversation starts, not where it ends. I mean, think about the way you deal with your neighbors or your friends or your co workers or your family members. You know, when you disagree, you find a way to work through it. And you know, increasingly, our politics is not about that, and it ultimately -- you know, ultimately we have to face the question like, do we want to continue to live together as one country, because if we do, the path we are on is unsustainable.

And I thought that, as I said, that the President's remarks tonight could not have been more out of tune with what the job of what you would expect from your national leader at this moment to try to bring away, find a way to bring the country together, to express our common and which I think is genuine horror, and you know, outrage at this action.

[02:20:14]

And instead, to basically view yourself in the smaller role of a factional leader expressing opposition, genuine horror, and you know, outrage at this action, and instead, to basically view yourself in the smaller role of a factional leader expressing opposition against another group of Americans.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And thank you to Ron Brownstein for his time.

Our breaking news coverage of the death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk continues in a moment, we're going to hear from some of the young people who are invested in Kirk's youth movement. Stay with CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:25:04]

JIMENEZ: The governor of Utah is calling Charlie Kirk's death a political assassination. Spencer Cox said Kirk's killing marked a dark day for our state and a tragic day for our nation. He vowed authorities would bring the killer to justice.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. SPENCER COX (D-UT): The investigation is ongoing, but I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this, we will find you. We will try you, and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now, on the political front, President Trump has credited Charlie Kirk with mobilizing the youth vote in the 2024 presidential election. CNN's Donie O'Sullivan has more on the youth movement that Kirk built.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: The movement Kirk built was admired on both sides of the political spectrum, and we were at one of his conferences, Turning Point USA conference in Tampa, Florida, back in July. And here's what one young conservative told us about the importance of what Kirk had built.

DANI BERNECKER, YOUNG CONSERVATIVE: I'm here because I love Turning Point USA. I have a chapter where I'm from, and I just love Turning Point USA. I love everything about it. I love the energy that we bring. I love the fact that we are now becoming like -- we're becoming the cool kids now. Like, for a very, very long time, especially during the Biden presidency, we were told that we aren't cool anymore. Where we were -- we were defeated, and now we're just -- to be at an event like this is just such a celebration of what we've overcome.

O'SULLIVAN: What Kirk had built was the envy of Democrats. In fact, we reported over the summer how some Democratic activists were finally trying to build an infrastructure in place to try and reach campuses and to reach young voters in the way Kirk had so.

I mean, even people who vehemently disagreed with Kirk and his political policies still talked about how impressive an organizer and a mobilizer he was for young voters.

O'SULLIVAN: Did the Democrats have anything like this?

ZEE COHEN-SANCHEZ, DEMOCRATIC ORGANIZER, KIRK CRITIC: Nothing. And I will say like Charlie Kirk is honestly one of the best organizers of our generation. And I think that, you know, as much as I disagree with Charlie Kirk, I believe that what he's doing has worked, and that's why I'm here to replicate what he's doing.

I'm not here to, you know, disrupt Charlie Kirk's events. I'm here to say that there are alternative ideas and that we need to build the same thing that he has, because he is good at it.

O'SULLIVAN: I will say, for as crude and as crass and sometimes as he says, as these debates often would get. And Kirk was recently featured on South Park. Such was his influence in this was that at least there was these debates happening on campuses, and certainly the Democrats I spoke to who showed up at these events, they wanted to have that dialog. They wanted to not just fight online, but actually argue their points back and forth on campus, in person, and that's what Kirk allowed them to do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: All right, thank you, Donie. We're going to have much more on the killing of Charlie Kirk, including reaction from President Trump, who calls the shooting a dark moment for America. We'll tell you how the unlikely friends became close political allies, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:32:51]

JIMENEZ: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and all around the world. I'm Omar Jimenez, and this is "CNN Newsroom." President Trump has ordered all American flags to be lowered to half staff through Sunday in honor of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, after his shooting death Wednesday. Kirk was an ally and personal friend of the president and President Trump released a four-minute video expressing his grief and anger over Kirk's killing as part of it, while also blaming what he calls the radical left for the latest political violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: It's long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder, the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible. For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: Now I should note, we've seen multiple examples over the last years of political violence targeting members on both sides of the political aisle. And as this manhunt continues, we still do not know the motivations of this particular shooting. But CNN's Kristen Holmes has more on the reaction from the White House.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The White House is mourning the loss of Charlie Kirk, somebody who sources told me President Trump viewed as his own son. We just saw a post, an emotional post from Don Jr., President Trump's son, saying that Charlie Kirk was like a brother to him. And the thing to keep in mind here, it's not just political for so many of these White House staffers and advisers, it's also familial, it's also personal.

Charlie Kirk was a part of a very small group of loyalists. People who were loyal not only to Donald Trump, but to each other who helped get Trump elected in 2024. He spent time with these various staffers and advisers, with his family.

[02:35:00]

They say that he was a devoted father, a devoted husband, and he gave up a lot of his time and energy to help President Trump not only get elected, but also to help with his transition, getting the right people that they believed were the right people, into office, into the cabinet positions with vetting and interviews. President Trump has said on multiple occasions that he credits Kirk, at least in part, for his 2024 win. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: I won the young people by 37 percent. No Republicans ever won, and I won by 37 percent. And Charlie Kirk will tell you, TikTok helped, but Charlie Kirk helped also. He's done great and I appreciate all the help.

Charlie is fantastic. I mean, this guy -- don't believe this stuff when you hear the kids are liberal, they're not liberal. Maybe they used to be, but they're not anymore. I want to express my tremendous gratitude to Charlie Kirk. He's really an amazing guy.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: It should be noted that Kirk was one of a small group of people who had a direct line to President Trump. We are told that Trump respected Kirk, even if Kirk had a difference of opinion, there were many who believed that Kirk had his finger on the pulse of young conservatism of the MAGA movement, even more so than some of the people who serve on Donald Trump's cabinet. This is a dark day, talking to these White House officials, to these advisers, to these people who were close to Donald Trump and to Charlie Kirk. For them, this is deeply personal.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

JIMENEZ: All right, thank you, Kristen. Meanwhile, U.S. First Lady Melania Trump focused on the impact of Kirk's family in the aftermath of his killing in a social media post. She said, Charlie's children will be raised with stories instead of memories and photographs instead of laughter, that there will be silence where their father's voice should have echoed. Mrs. Trump also said that Kirk's life should be a reminder that what she called compassionate awareness elevates family, life, and country.

Now, this comes as two former Democratic presidents have offered their reactions to the death of Charlie Kirk. President Joe Biden posted on X, there is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now. And President Barack Obama echoed that sentiment saying that while the shooter's motive still isn't known, "this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy." Both also offered their thoughts and prayers to Kirk's family.

Now, I want to note we're also following news out of Colorado after a high school shooting in the Denver area Wednesday. At least two students were injured after a gunman opened fire at Evergreen High School. The suspect, a male student at the school was taken to the hospital with a self-inflicted gunshot wound, but has since died. According to officials, the tragedy marks the 47th school shooting in the United States.

Now coming up, we are going to keep you updated on some other headlines we're following, including an apparent provocation for Europe and NATO when more than a dozen Russian drones violated the airspace of Poland, a NATO member. We'll have reactions from the West and new details on the incident next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:42:48]

JIMENEZ: Just in, hundreds of South Korean workers detained by the United States government last week have been released. According to CNN Affiliate NBC, they're set to board a plane at the Atlanta Airport in the coming hours to return home after they were taken into custody in a massive immigration raid, which happened at a plant in southern Georgia, jointly operated by South Korea based companies Hyundai and the LG Energy Solution.

Now, Korean officials say President Trump offered to allow the workers to stay in the U.S. to train American workers, but only one person chose to do so. We'll bring you more details as that story continues to develop.

Meanwhile, Thursday marks the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States as memorial services are planned for New York, Washington, and Shanksville, Pennsylvania. U.S. President Donald Trump is set to attend a ceremony at the Pentagon In the morning before traveling up to New York to attend a New York Yankees baseball game. The vice president is set to visit Ground Zero. Now in New York, there will be a reading of the names of the victims, along with moments of silence and a tribute to those who are sick or who have died as a result of illnesses related to 9/11.

Meanwhile, Poland's president says his conversations on Wednesday with U.S. President Donald Trump confirmed the NATO allies are united following a Russian drone incursion into Polish airspace. The incident is seen as a significant provocation for Europe and NATO amid Moscow's war on Ukraine. The E.U.'s foreign policy chief called the incident the most serious European airspace violation by Russia since the war began.

As Germany's chancellor said the incident poses a very serious threat to peace across Europe. More on the incident and Polish airspace now from CNN's Nick Paton Walsh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A site common in Ukraine, a Russian drone flying in the night's darkness, intercepted. But this was across the border, inside NATO, in Poland, the largest military alliance in history scrambling Dutch and Polish jets and police around the border areas overnight. And waking up to a new reality that Russian drones had made 19 incursions into their territory.

[02:45:00]

The remains of Shahid-type Russian drones found at seven locations, several not containing explosives, said initial Polish reports, but that didn't make them harmless. A roof torn away at, at least one home and the scale, all 19 breaches belied claims it may all have been a navigational error. Russia's defense ministry said they didn't target any Polish sites for destruction, but that isn't a denial. The fragments collected here were their drones.

Airspace closed for hours, even Warsaw's main airport. What lingered in the air after the drones, a sense of shock that Moscow had dared violate the airspace of its biggest wealthiest adversary, NATO.

Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland (through translator): In all likelihood, we're facing a large-scale provocation said the Polish prime minister. This is the first time Russian drones were shot down on the territory of a NATO member state.

MARK RUTTE, NATO SECRETARY GENERAL: Whether it was intentional or not, it is absolutely reckless. It is absolutely dangerous. But that said, the full assessment is ongoing.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Five European defense ministers gathered in London to discuss Ukraine and found their Polish colleague had urgently gone home.

JOHN HEALEY, BRITISH DEFENCE MINISTER: Last night, Putin hit a new level of hostility against Europe.

PATON WALSH: But how'd you stop it happening again? How'd you stop it happening next week? What is the deterrent that you're able to present here to change the Kremlin's thinking?

HEALEY: Ultimately, the big deterrent for President Putin is a NATO that is now more united, a NATO that is now bigger than when he launched his full-scale attack on Ukraine.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): President Trump said he talked to his Polish counterpart and posted, "What's with Russia violating Poland's airspace with drones? Here we go." Not exactly the cast iron guarantees of U.S. military protection hat's been at the heart of the NATO alliance for decades. Poland is closing its border with Belarus Thursday, ahead of Russian military exercises there Friday. Tensions have been growing for months. NATO more and more sucked into Moscow's invasion of Ukraine next door. But this is something new, unanticipated, and troubling as Europe has no immediate response. And that may have been the answer Putin was waiting for.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JIMENEZ: Meanwhile, Qatar's prime minister is lashing out at Israel after the deadly Israeli strike in Doha. During an exclusive interview with CNN, he accused Israel of killing any hope for the hostages and accused the Israeli prime minister of, "wasting our time with meaningless talks." A senior Hamas official confirmed no one is talking about a ceasefire right now, as Qatar has confirmed the identity of one of the five Hamas members killed in the attack. He was the Director of the Office of Hamas' Chief Negotiator. CNN's Nic Robertson has more details on the fallout.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, in his exclusive interview with CNN's Becky Anderson, the Qatar's prime minister has said that he doesn't have the words to describe how enraged he is. Betrayed is how he says the country feels at the moment. He said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, through striking the Hamas negotiator's house here in Doha, has essentially ended hope for the hostages. He says that Qatar right now is reconsidering its position as a mediator.

He said that Prime Minister Netanyahu is bringing chaos to the region, that he is putting the whole region, the whole Gulf region at risk on what the prime minister says, he hopes that happens over the coming days. And he met today with the president of the United Arab Emirates, who had very strong language to criticize Israel's actions here in Qatar. He said that he hopes that -- this is what the Qatari prime minister said -- he hopes that along with regional partners, they come up with a collective response to decide how to push back against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that there should be some kind of decision that will -- it's not clear diplomatically.

He's certainly not talking about some kind of military response, but to determine the regional response. But the level of anger, the level of frustration, the diplomatic, or if you will, almost undiplomatic language that is being used here gives a very strong under understanding of just how angry and let down the Qataris are. But what does that mean for the talks in Gaza, the Hostage release talks? He says it paints a very, very dark picture. No hope for the -- no hope at the moment for the hostage release. And in terms of a ceasefire, again, pulling back from Qatar's mediating role at a time when Hamas is now saying, no one is discussing this ceasefire. So, a collective response coming in the next few days, it appears, from this region towards Israel.

Nic Roberson, CNN, Doha, Qatar.

[02:50:00]

JIMENEZ: All right, thank you, Nic. Meanwhile, Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has joined the chorus of voices mourning the death of U.S. conservative activist Charlie Kirk. In an online post, Netanyahu said Kirk was murdered for speaking truth and defending freedom. He also called Kirk a lion hearted friend of Israel, who in Netanyahu's words fought the lies and stood tall for the Judeo-Christian civilization.

And we're going to have more on our top story this hour. New video shows the frantic and chaotic moments following the shooting of conservative activist, Charlie Kirk. A warning though, the video may be distressing to some viewers. One witness who was attending Kirk's event in Utah captured this video. You can see people running and scrambling to get away from the scene of the shooting. The witness tells CNN, he and his wife just happened to be running out this direction when they saw Kirk's security team carrying him to an SUV after the shooting.

Charlie Kirk is being remembered by those who knew him. Joe Walsh is a former U.S. House Republican, and he spoke to CNN's Jake Tapper about his memories of Kirk.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE WALSH, HOST, "THE SOCIAL CONTRACT": I met him when he was 16- years-old. I went off to Congress and I became a father to him. I became a political mentor to him. I helped him launch, start TP USA. He was a lovable political nerd. He was a geek. He would rather spend his weekend nights talking about various House districts instead of going out on dates. It was his life. He didn't go to college. He and I were extremely close. And then Trump happened and we went our separate ways politically. And Jake, he and I would fight repeatedly on social media, but it was just that. And even though we did that, even right up until today, he still felt like a son to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIMENEZ: And in many ways, Kirk rewrote the rule book for how the conservative movement in the United States can reach young voters. And as Brian Todd reports, Kirk started his political work when he was still a teenager.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KIRK: That's a lot of people, Utah. Tell you what.

(CROWD CHEERING)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even in a MAGA ecosystem of fast moving, sharp talking media stars, Charlie Kirk stood out.

KIRK: We need more people in jail. We do not have enough people in prison in America.

TODD (voice-over): The 31-year-old father of two rose to fame at a young age, just 18 when he co-founded the group, Turning Point USA, which builds support for conservative politics at high schools and colleges.

KIRK: As I travel the country, and I'm doing this on college campuses, I can feel a surge.

TODD (voice-over): Turning Point USA now has chapters on more than 800 campuses. And on the eve of his second inauguration, President Trump credited Kirk with mobilizing the youth vote.

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: And a man who's got an army of young people, Charlie Kirk is here and I want to thank Charlie. Charlie is fantastic. I mean, this guy -- don't believe this stuff when you hear the kids are liberal, they're not liberal. Maybe they used to be, but they're not anymore.

TODD (voice-over): A college dropout, born in the suburbs of Chicago, Kirk became a millionaire from the books he wrote, speaking engagements, and his popular podcast, "The Charlie Kirk Show." On all media platforms, he was a strong voice for conservative causes, including the Second Amendment.

KIRK: You don't need all these gun laws if you -- you don't -- it's OK if everybody owns guns. If you don't have much of third-worlders coming into your nation, that don't abide them and then commit a lot of crimes.

BRIAN STELTER, CNN MEDIA ANALYST: He is one of the most prominent, I would say, the most successful MAGA media personality of his generation. He's a little bit like a new era Rush Limbaugh of the digital age. But unlike someone like Rush who hosted a radio show at his home, Kirk is out and about. He's known for doing these public events.

TODD (voice-over): Analysts say Kirk's propensity for being able to take on anyone in a political argument at the drop of a hat propelled him in MAGA circles.

DAVID CHALIAN, CNN WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF AND POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Charlie Kirk could debate endlessly. He mastered his brief. Again, obviously not everyone agreed with him. A conservative media star here, but he would debate for hours on end with people in the belief of his argument.

TODD (voice-over): As a result, Kirk had the ear of almost everyone in the White House from President Trump on down. When he broke with the administration twice this year over the bombing of Iran and the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, the stir in MAGA world was palpable. He later backed down from his call for more transparency in the Epstein case.

KIRK: I'm going to trust my friends in the administration. I'm going to trust my friends in the government to do what needs to be done, solve it, ball is in their hands.

TODD (voice-over): In October of last year, Kirk reflected on Trump's defiant gestures right after Trump was shot in an assassination attempt that summer in Pennsylvania.

KIRK: They say, well, is this someone that you want your kids to grow up and to look up to? I say, yes, I'm going to tell my son that in the line of fire, that if you ever think as if things could ever get dark and you rise and you say, fight, fight, fight. I want my son to be like that one day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[02:55:00]

TODD (on camera): And true to form, Charlie Kirk was engaging with an audience in that last appearance in Utah, answering questions from the audience about mass shooters in the U.S. just moments before he was shot.

Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

JIMENEZ: Thank you all for joining me at this hour. I'm Omar Jimenez in New York. The news continues with Brian Abel in Washington, D.C. after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:55:28]