There will be no Charlie Kirk highway in his home state of Arizona. The reason: politics.
Exactly whose politics is to blame has become a point of debate.
Kirk, the conservative activist known for his campus debates, was assassinated last year during an event at Utah Valley University. Republicans in Arizona, where Kirk's Turning Point USA organization is based, passed legislation attempting to add Kirk's name to Loop 202, a highway circling through the sprawling Phoenix area.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed it on Friday.
In a veto message to state lawmakers, Hobbs denounced political violence but suggested that Republicans had inappropriately injected politics into a decision rightly left to a state board that names historic highways.
“I will continue working toward solutions that bring people together, but this bill falls short of that standard by inserting politics into a function of government that should remain nonpartisan,” Hobbs wrote.
Republican state Senate President Warren Petersen, who sponsored the legislation, said it was Hobbs who practiced politics by breaking with “a long-standing Arizona tradition” of recognizing people who made an impact on society.
The veto “tells people that recognition now depends on political alignment, not contribution,” Petersen said in a statement. “That’s not how Arizona has ever approached these decisions, and it’s a disappointing shift for our state.”
Lawmakers in more than 20 states have introduced over five dozen bills seeking to honor Kirk, according to an Associated Press analysis using the bill-tracking software Plural. Many propose naming things after Kirk or creating an official day of remembrance. Others invoke Kirk's name for measures that would protect free speech rights on college campuses or encourage schools to teach about the role of Judeo-Christian values in American history.
Arizona and Florida were among the first states to give final approval to Kirk-inspired legislation.
Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has yet to act on a bill that would designate a road in Miami-Dade County as “Charlie Kirk Memorial Avenue" while also designating a road in Broward County as “President Donald J. Trump Boulevard.”
FILE - Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk speaks during a campaign rally, Oct. 24, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
A 15-year-old student shot a teacher at a Texas high school and then fatally shot himself Monday, according to authorities, who were still investigating what led to the early morning attack.
No other injuries were reported at Hill Country College Preparatory High School in Bulverde, a small but growing city near San Antonio.
The teacher was taken to a nearby hospital. Comal County Sheriff Mark Reynolds said hours after the shooting that he did not know her condition.
“What happened today is something no community ever wants to face, but we prepare for something that we hope never occurs,” Reynolds said.
He said the student shot the teacher before turning the gun on himself. Reynolds said investigators were working to understand the relationship between the student and the teacher and looking into how the firearm was obtained.
The small campus of roughly 250 students was placed on lockdown shortly after 8:30 a.m., according to the school. One student told San Antonio television station KSAT that they heard loud bangs coming from a room on the second floor and then heard screaming.
Another student told the TV station that she heard five shots and yelling before her debate teacher told students to get inside a classroom.
Students were bused to a nearby middle school, where parents stood in long lines, some praying, as they waited to be reunited. Reynolds said the family members of the shooter had also gone into in the reunification line.
“We’re trying to collect as much information as we can from witnesses,” Reynolds said.
Jesse Lopez, a parent, told KSAT that it will be difficult to tell his daughter that she has to eventually go back to class.
“For one, she has autism, and she’ll be afraid to go back, she’ll be real afraid to go back,” Lopez said.
The school canceled classes for Tuesday but counselors would still be made available for students and families, principal Julie Wiley said in a statement. She did not provide details about the teacher's condition.
“Our hearts are with everyone impacted, especially that teacher, their family, and our school community,” Wiley said. “We know this has been a difficult day.”
The high school, which is part of the Comal Independent School District, focuses on academics and skills to prepare students for college, according to the district's website. Its curriculum is centered on science, technology, engineering, arts and math, known as STEAM, with electives that include cybersecurity and engineering.
The school opened in August 2020 with a freshman class. It has since grown to offer grades nine through 12.
__
Associated Press reporter Heather Hollingsworth contributed to this report from Kansas City, Missouri.
This image taken from video provided by KSAT shows first responders outside after a student shot a teacher at Hill Country College Preparatory High School, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Bulverde, Texas. (KSAT via AP)
This image taken from video provided by KSAT shows first responders outside after a student shot a teacher at Hill Country College Preparatory High School, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Bulverde, Texas. (KSAT via AP)
This image taken from video provided by KSAT shows parents waiting in line outside Bulverde Middle School to be reunited with their children after a teacher was shot by a student at Hill Country College Preparatory High School, Monday, March 30, 2026, in Bulverde, Texas. (KSAT via AP)
