OREM, Utah: U.S. investigators on Thursday released a video and photos of a person of interest in the slaying of prominent conservative activist Charlie Kirk and announced they had recovered the rifle that is believed to have been used in the politically motivated killing.
Kirk, who was a 31-year-old author, podcast host and staunch supporter of US President Donald Trump, assisted in developing the Republican Party’s base among young voters. He was shot dead on Wednesday by one bullet while delivering a lecture at a university in Utah in what Trump referred to as a “heinous assassination.”.
Detectives have not yet made public any motive, but Trump explained to the press that he had some sense of the motivation behind the killer. “We’ll tell you about that later,” he replied, adding that law enforcement was making “big progress” on the case.
FBI and state officials indicated that the killer was at the campus a few minutes before the event began, a debate by Kirk called “Prove Me Wrong” outside in front of 3,000 at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, approximately 40 miles (65 km) south of Salt Lake City.
FBI releases video of suspect in Charlie Kirk shooting
Security-camera footage captures an individual climbing stairwells to access a rooftop before shooting at Charlie Kirk, the officials informed a news conference. Kirk, an ardent supporter of gun rights, was responding to a question from an audience member on mass shootings when the bullet hit his neck. Audience members ran for safety.
An individual of interest in the deadly shooting of U.S. right-wing commentator and activist Charlie Kirk
The FBI created a $100,000 reward for details that would lead to the arrest of the killer and posted grainy photos shot from surveillance cameras of a “person of interest” who was wearing a black top, black sunshades and a dark baseball cap. The long-sleeved shirt had printed on it the image of a bald eagle soaring over a U.S. flag.
A second set of photographs published by Utah state authorities presented somewhat sharper images of the tall young man, with more details of his backpack and Converse sneakers.
Authorities also released footage of a man descending off the roof where the sniper launched the fatal shot. That individual left a palm print and other DNA evidence on the building when he descended from the roof to the ground, Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason stated.
The video also captured the man walking across a street and into an area of woods close to campus, where authorities indicated they located a “high-powered, bolt-action” rifle.
The gunman has not been made public, although legislators, pundits and internet sleuths have already populated social media and message boards with conjecture and blame-shifting regarding the killer’s motive.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox appealed to the public for help.“We cannot do our job without the public’s help right now,” he told reporters.
He said investigators had received over 7,000 tips from the public and investigators had conducted over 200 interviews.
FBI Director Kash Patel traveled to Utah and appeared at a press briefing with state and federal officials, but did not speak.
TRUMP TO AWARD KIRK TOP HONOR
Charlie Kirk – president and co-founder of the right-wing college group Turning Point USA – was speaking at the Utah university on Wednesday as part of a scheduled 15-stop “American Comeback Tour” of American campuses. His murder sparked outrage and condemnation of political violence from Republicans, Democrats and governments around the world.
Trump announced that he would give Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian award. Vice President JD Vance postponed his visit to New York to memorialize the attacks by al Qaeda on September 11, 2001, and visited Utah instead to visit Kirk’s family and to bring them and Kirk’s coffin home to Arizona on Air Force Two.
Kirk started out in right-wing and conservative politics as a young teenager, an endeavor he has explained as being influenced by his Christian beliefs. A decade and a bit down the line, some of those individuals he befriended along the way are now on the top echelons of U.S. government and media, and Vance remembers being in several group chats with Kirk.
FBI releases video of suspect in Charlie Kirk shooting
“So much of our success in this administration stems directly from Charlie’s organizational skills and convening ability,” Vance said in a eulogy he put on social media.
“He didn’t just assist us in winning in 2024, he assisted us in filling out the entire government.”
ERA OF POLITICAL VIOLENC
The shooting marked the most extended spate of U.S. political violence since the 1970s. Reuters has reported over 300 incidents of politically driven acts of violence across the political spectrum since Trump supporters stormed the U.S.
Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump himself has defied two plots against his life last year, one that grazed his ear during a campaign rally and another two months later thwarted by federal agents.
Married Charlie Kirk, father of two young children, was hailed by Republicans as a charismatic voice for right-wing politics on race, gender, immigration, religion and gun control. He would regularly debate his far-left to far-right critics and often call out members of his own audiences to challenge him on live.
Trump informed journalists that he had called Kirk’s wife, Erika Frantzve, “And she’s devastated, she’s absolutely devastated, as you can imagine.
Reporting by Andrew Hay in Orem, and Brad Brooks in Colorado; Additional reporting by Jana Winter, Helen Coster, Jasper Ward, James Oliphant, Bo Erickson, Andrea Shalal, Kanishka Singh, Ismail Shakil, Julia Harte, Sarah N. Lynch and Jarrett Renshaw; Writing by Steve Gorman, Jonathan Allen and Daniel Trotta; Editing by Frank McGurty
