Charlie Kirk’s Mentor Frank Turek Recounts His Final Moments: ‘He Was Looking Past Me Right Into Eternity’
In one of the most emotional moments of Sunday’s memorial service for Charlie Kirk, Christian apologist and radio host Frank Turek took the stage to describe in vivid, heartbreaking detail the final moments of the Turning Point USA founder’s life.
“I was standing 25 feet from my beloved friend,” Turek told the massive crowd gathered at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. “When that shot rang out I took a step toward him, but his security team was on him immediately.”
Turek, who said he had grown to view Kirk as a “son,” ran with the security team toward the SUV in a desperate attempt to help.
“No father would stand back and say no, you just take my son, take him, I’ll meet you at the hospital,” he said.
“Charlie Was Already Gone”
Despite the best efforts of the security team, paramedics, and those in the vehicle, Turek delivered the grim truth: “We did everything we could to save Charlie, but Charlie was already gone.”
Turek, who rode with Kirk in the ambulance, said he saw the young man’s lifeless eyes and recognized something deeply spiritual in the moment.
“His face was looking at mine, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was looking past me right into eternity,” he said solemnly.
“If it’s any comfort at all,” he added, choking back emotion, “I learned that Charlie felt no pain. He died instantly. But we had to try to bring him back.”
“I want you to know Charlie right now is in heaven.”
A Mentor’s Pride and Pain
Turek told the crowd that Kirk had reached out to him about five years ago seeking Christian mentorship. The two developed a deep personal and spiritual bond.
“It’s gotta be difficult to mentor someone smarter than you,” Turek quipped. “However, the only thing that surpassed Charlie’s intellect was his humility. And so the few things I knew that he didn’t, he wanted me to share with him.”
Turek was one of more than two dozen speakers who addressed the crowd of over 200,000 people. The ceremony also featured remarks from President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, and Kirk’s widow Erika.
A Martyr, Not a Victim
Many of Sunday’s speakers — including Turek — echoed the same phrase: Charlie Kirk was not just a victim, but a martyr.
“He died for what he believed,” Turek said. “But his voice won’t be silenced. In fact, now it’s louder than ever.”
In the crowd, silence fell as Turek described the moment Kirk passed. Then came applause, tears, and the unmistakable sense that a new chapter in the conservative movement had begun — one written in the blood of a man who, as Turek put it, “was already looking toward eternity.”
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