June 25th, 2024

NEWS 28 - Former Mesa Governor Kirk Paul is now in the fight of his life as he fights to survive injuries he sustained during an early morning shooting very early this morning. The former Governor was at his private hotel room when the shooter gained entry and shot Paul point blank in the chest.

Then-Governor Kirk Paul giving his weekly press briefing in Early 2023.

"Police and Firefighters all surrounded the hotel and we didn't know what was going on," said a family of hotel guests. "We then saw them run in, and by the time they came out, we realized it was Governor Kirk Paul. We were shocked. Many people began praying for him, his family and his son who died in 2022."

State officials from both sides of the political isle have been calling his family to send them their best wishes and hopes for his speedy recovery. Senator Mark Jacobs, who has been an outspoken enemy of Paul's gave this statement after learning of his shooting.

"We are unbelievably and profoundly disgusted by this heinous act perpetrated against former Governor Kirk Paul," said Jacobs. "Justice must be served for this horrific act and I hope he makes a speedy and successful recovery and my prayers go out to his family who are still working through the death of their eldest son Matthew Paul, who died in late 2022."

"This is just unacceptable," said Captain C. Rodriguez of the Mesa Highway Patrol. "Paul is critical condition and is now fighting for his life. The Mesa Highway Patrol is committed to finding the cause of this shooting."

Kirk Paul has been known to spark hate across the state and investigators are saying that his racism and anti-LGBTQ sentiment could be a potential cause for this shooting. They say they are working with Governor Joshua Adamson's office as well as the State attorney General's office to investigate this shooting, and are calling in federal investigators as it involves a State government official.

"The Paul family is in our prayers as Kirk continues to fight for his life at the hospital," said Governor Joshua Adamson, who served as Paul's Lt. Governor from 2021-2023. "We will continue to keep in contact with his family as they work through this hard and difficult time."

No further word on the shooting are available at this time and Kirk Paul's condition remains as critical. Kirk Paul, 42, served as the 19th Governor Of Mesa from 2021 until his resignation in 2023. He has definitely ruffled feathers during his leadership including making several racist remarks during his time as host of Alden Prime Time.

The suspect, whose identity is being withheld pending the investigation, could face murder charges if Kirk Paul dies while in the hospital. Paul's family say it is absolutely "devastating." They say they are "working everyday to get past the death of Matt Paul, who died in 2022." They said they "will now have to work towards get Kirk healed and recovered."

Prayers have been flooding in on his personal X(formerly Twitter) account, and to Alexis and his joint X account. His son Alex posted the following message on his personal X account.

"I am utterly shocked to learn that my dear father was shot while staying a private hotel," said the second oldest Paul kid. "It breaks my heart that you were alone when the incident took place. I love you dad, please come back to us."

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