A neuroscientist has spoken out about Charlie Kirk's death, explaining what the 31-year-old would have experienced when he was shot.
Conservative activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was fatally shot on September 10 while addressing a crowd of around 3,000 people at Utah Valley University (UVU).
The 31-year-old was answering a question about gun violence under a white gazebo in the university’s courtyard when a single bullet struck him in the left side of his neck at approximately 12:20PM local time.
Shocking footage captured the moment Kirk raised his arms toward his neck before collapsing, with blood pouring from the wound. He was rushed to hospital by his security team, but shortly afterward, President Donald Trump confirmed his death.
Did Kirk Feel Pain?
Neuropsychologist Derek Van Schaik analyzed the footage and said Kirk’s brain never had time to process what had happened.
“When someone suffers a catastrophic wound to the neck that destroys a carotid artery and jugular vein, the mind only has a fleeting window to possibly register what happened,” Van Schaik explained in a YouTube video.
“However, in Charlie's case, and after analyzing the footage with a digital timer, he was conscious for no more than four tenths of a second after impact. Far too fast for his brain to even register what had happened to him.”
He added: “No panic, no dread, no realization that he was about to die, only an abrupt blackout. It was neurologically impossible for him to psychologically realize anything was wrong at all.”
Van Schaik revealed that while pain in the neck can register in just “100 milliseconds,” Kirk lost consciousness so quickly that his brain never had the chance to turn that raw signal into a perception of pain.
“He absolutely did not know he was shot,” the neuroscientist concluded, adding that Kirk’s death was “essentially instant.”
Why Kirk raised his arms before collapsing
Viewers questioned why Kirk’s arms appeared to move upward before he slumped in his chair.
Van Schaik addressed speculation that it was “decorticate posturing,” a phenomenon linked to severe brain damage.
“Many have speculated his arms moving upward towards his chest is due to a phenomenon known in forensic science as decorticate posturing,” he said. “However, that’s unlikely.”
He explained: “An immediate loss of blood to the brain does not typically result in immediate decorticate posturing. Instead, loss of blood to the brain would have led to rapid unconsciousness and flaccid collapse.
"Therefore, his arms instantly moving up like that after being hit was apparently due to an instant involuntary defensive reflex.”
Van Schaik likened the reaction to someone jerking their arms upward when startled, describing it as an automatic protective motion.