Just last week, he was in the South Valley, speaking at an event at Visalia First where Tulare County Sheriff Mike Boudreaux.
"Very unfortunate cowardly act by the shooter and I'm hoping he is brought to justice very, very quickly," says Sheriff Boudreaux.
RELATED: Charlie Kirk fatally shot while visiting Utah university in 'political assassination,' governor says
Sheriff Boudreaux and his deputies were in charge of security
"Our event went very smoothly, we provided internal annex and external security measures, and we took great caution in knowing these things happen. Fortunately in our situation he was not allowed to come in or go out and not have someone standing next to him and I know we have the same at this event," explains Sheriff Boudreaux.
Over 2,000 people showed up including about 30 counter protestors.
Derrick Ruiz, a student at College of the Sequoias, was there to report on the event for his journalism class.
Derrick recalls, ""The very first thing Charlie Kirk said when he began to speak was the protests. I think he phrased it as we need better protesters. I think he was a little sad that it wasn't a bigger showing. I get the relative feeling that as much as he likes support he did like having the protestors and the whole scene, I think it added to the clout of what he was doing."
Kirk, who was 31, often drew large crowds of younger, college-aged voters, some who agreed, others who didn't.
Derrick was also able to speak to both the protestors and people who showed up to the event, "Everyone had a really strong opinion but they weren't really against each other, per say. The thing I noticed they were very focused on was the preservation of human life and the fact that both sides felt that the sanctity of life, or rather the value of life was diminishing."
Sheriff Boudreaux says politics aside, Kirk was a kind and intelligent man.
"It's absurd to think that you can take another person's life just to close the mouth of something they believe in, this is incredibly terrible, my prayer to the family," expresses Sheriff Boudreaux.
In a statement, Visalia First says in part, "In this moment of national grief, we make a heartfelt appeal: let us be a people who rise with renewed determination to champion the sacredness of life "from the womb to the tomb." We condemn this barbaric act of violence, yet we choose to respond not with hatred, but with prayers for God's mercy and grace to be poured out on our broken land. We are determine to "lower the temperature" rather than escalate the rhetoric that is swirling around this moment of national tragedy."
Kirk leaves behind a wife, and two young children.
For South Valley news updates, follow Kassandra Gutierrez on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.