Nation on Edge After Charlie Kirk Assassination: Closed Schools, False Reports and a Scare at the DNC Headquarters By Jillian Frankel 25

One day after the apparent assassination of Charlie Kirk, people throughout the country and across the ideological spectrum are grappling with a wave of unease over recent political violence.

Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA, a conservative advocacy group targeting young people, was shot in the neck while speaking at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Sept. 10. Moments later, gruesome footage of the attack began circulating on social media.

Kirk’s organization confirmed his death hours later, pleading for prayers for his family, which includes two young children.

The manhunt for the gunman continues and on Thursday, Sept. 11, the FBI released photos of a person of interest, describing the individual as someone who was able to blend in well among the college students.

Within hours of Kirk’s shooting death, two students were injured in a high school shooting in Evergreen, Colo. The teenage shooter died from a self-inflicted gunshot injury, Fox affiliate KDVR reported.

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Utah Valley University officials have announced the campus will be closed until Monday, Sept. 15, in the wake of the attacks. But just one day later, other universities across the country, including a handful of historically Black colleges and universities, temporarily implemented shelter-in-place orders due to threats of violence.

Lockdowns have been lifted at Clark Atlanta University and Southern University and A&M College, multiple outlets reported, while classes have been canceled for the rest of the week at Hampton University, officials said in a statement.

Concerns about on-campus violence trickled down to younger classrooms too. Officials notified Chicago area schools after receiving a report of someone walking around with what looked like a knife, Fox affiliate WFLD reported. Police soon discovered the purported weapon was actually just a pencil.

Similar fears reverberated in the nation’s capital.

“This afternoon, there was a bomb threat to DNC HQ that was determined to not be credible by the U.S. Capitol Police,” a Democratic National Committee spokesperson said in a statement shared with PEOPLE. “Out of an abundance of caution,” Capitol Police conducted an interior sweep of the building.

“As DNC Chair Ken Martin has said, political violence in every form has no place in our country. We are grateful to the U.S. Capitol Police and DNC building security for responding quickly and professionally,” the spokesperson continued.

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A Semafor report revealed that anxiety is especially high on Capitol Hill, where more than 500 members of Congress and their staff conduct business.

“People are scared to death in this building,” said Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz of the U.S. Capitol, according to Semafor, adding, “Not many of them will say it publicly, but they’re running to [House Speaker Mike Johnson] talking about security.”

Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has since postponed a rally originally scheduled for this weekend in Raleigh, N.C, NBC reported.

“From the moment I was elected, I have felt that I accept a certain level of risk in doing this job,” Ocasio-Cortez said, according to the outlet, adding that the current congressional security protocol was “not designed for a digital threat environment era.”

Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, a self-described “firebrand” who is currently running for governor of South Carolina, swore off outdoor events for the foreseeable future and said she will be carrying a gun “at all times.”

“Any elected official across the country, if you are vocal, your life is at risk,” Mace told reporters. “I have to deal with children who think they’re going to be murdered at school; I have to deal with employees right now who are afraid to come to work.”