The killer of MAGA influencer Charlie Kirk used a high-powered rifle to fire a single bullet from the roof of a building, police said Thursday, before they released photos and video of a person of interest in a bid to crack the case.
The day after Mr. Kirk, a 31-year-old high-profile ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was shot dead in the quadrangle of Utah Valley University, the gunman remained at large and politicians remained on edge, shaken by the latest political violence to rock the country.
Stills from security camera footage, released by the FBI, show a slim, dark-haired man in a black, long-sleeved shirt with what appears to be an American flag design, wearing a blue baseball cap, sunglasses, jeans and canvas sneakers as he climbs a staircase.
Surveillance camera footage released by the FBI showed what they said was the moment Charlie Kirk's gunman ran away on Wednesday.
Reuters
Security video from shortly after the shooting shows a figure sprinting across the roof of the Losee Center, a university building, clambering down to a ledge and then jumping several metres to the ground. The person runs a short distance further across a grassy lawn before slowing to a walk and waiting to cross a street.
At an earlier news conference, police said they were first using technological tools in a bid to identify the man before making the images public in hopes someone would recognize him.
Mr. Kirk, head of right-wing youth group Turning Point USA and a married father of two, was speaking to an audience of about 3,000 people in Orem, 64 kilometres south of Salt Lake City, as part of one of his regular tours of university campuses.
U.S. investigators said on Thursday they had found the bolt-action rifle they believed was used to kill the influential conservative activist Charlie Kirk and released images of a person of interest as they searched for the shooter they described as college age.
Reuters
Beau Mason of the Utah Department of Public Safety told reporters that the sniper arrived near Utah Valley University at 11:52 a.m., used stairwells to access the roof of the building and then got into position to fire. After the 12:20 p.m. shooting, he crossed the roof, jumped off the side of the building, and evaded capture by fleeing into a neighbourhood.
“We will catch this individual,” Mr. Mason vowed.
Who was Charlie Kirk? What to know about the Trump ally shot dead in Utah
Robert Bohls, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Salt Lake City office, said police had recovered the weapon, a high-powered bolt-action rifle, in a wooded area through which the shooter fled. He said police also have a print of the killer’s footwear, a palm print and a forearm imprint. Mr. Bohls said the gunman appeared to be university-aged.
The agent said the motive was still unclear, but that investigators would “find out why he did it” when they locate a suspect. “I understand there are a lot of questions about motive,” he said.
In a later social media post, the FBI said the footwear, palm and forearm prints came from the roof of the building, and that they had also recovered the shooter’s ammunition along with the rifle.
Trump ally Charlie Kirk assassinated
On Wednesday, 12:20 local time, U.S. conservative activist Charlie Kirk, an influential ally of President Donald Trump, was shot dead while speaking at an event attended by about 3,000 people at Utah Valley University.
150 km
Salt Lake City
Utah Valley
University
UTAH
Losee Center: Video posted online appears to show a person on the roof about 130 metres away
Staircase gives access to roof
UTAH VALLEY
UNIVERSITY
Kirk hit on platform
N
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: GRAPHIC NEWS;
GOOGLE EARTH; REUTERS
Trump ally Charlie Kirk assassinated
On Wednesday, 12:20 local time, U.S. conservative activist Charlie Kirk, an influential ally of President Donald Trump, was shot dead while speaking at an event attended by about 3,000 people at Utah Valley University.
150 km
Salt Lake City
Utah Valley
University
UTAH
Losee Center: Video posted online appears to show a person on the roof about 130 metres away
Staircase gives access to roof
UTAH VALLEY
UNIVERSITY
Kirk hit on platform
N
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: GRAPHIC NEWS;
GOOGLE EARTH; REUTERS
Trump ally Charlie Kirk assassinated
On Wednesday, 12:20 local time, U.S. conservative activist Charlie Kirk, an influential ally of President Donald Trump, was shot dead while speaking at an event attended by about 3,000 people at Utah Valley University.
Losee Center: Video posted online appears to show a person on the roof about 130 metres away
Staircase gives access to roof
UTAH VALLEY
UNIVERSITY
150 km
Salt Lake City
Utah Valley
University
UTAH
Kirk hit on platform
N
THE GLOBE AND MAIL, SOURCE: GRAPHIC NEWS; GOOGLE EARTH; REUTERS
Bystander video from before the shooting appears to show a person lying down on the roof of the Losee Center, about 125 metres from where Mr. Kirk was sitting.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, police arrested two persons of interest but released them after they turned out not to be the suspected killer.
Mr. Mason said the body of Mr. Kirk, who was pronounced dead in hospital after being driven there by private vehicle, would be released to his family on Thursday. Vice-President JD Vance, who was close with Mr. Kirk, was planning to fly Mr. Kirk’s body back to his home in Arizona aboard Air Force Two, U.S. media reported.
Mr. Trump announced on Thursday that he would posthumously award Mr. Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
“Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty, and an inspiration to millions and millions of people,” the President said at the Pentagon, during a memorial ceremony for the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
In an Oval Office video late Wednesday, Mr. Trump vowed to crack down on the “radical left” as a result of the shooting.
“My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity, and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund and support it,” he said.
President Donald Trump said investigators are making 'making great strides' on finding conservative activist Charlie Kirk's assassin.
The Associated Press
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren fired back that it was not Democrats who had to tone down their rhetoric.
“Oh, please. Why don’t you start with the President of the United States, right? And every ugly meme he has posted, and every ugly word,” she said at the Capitol on Thursday.
The death of Mr. Kirk follows a string of violent attacks against American politicians, including the assassination of Minnesota Democratic legislator Melissa Hortman in June, the arson of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s residence in April, and two attempts to kill Mr. Trump last year.
Opinion: Charlie Kirk is a sick nation’s sacrifice
On Thursday, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the firebrand leftist Democrat, said she would postpone a weekend rally planned for Raleigh, N.C., in part for security reasons and in part out of respect for Mr. Kirk.
Representative Nancy Mace, the South Carolina Republican best known for her anti-transgender activism, said she would cancel outdoor events and start carrying a gun.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said he would expedite a planned review of members’ security. Most legislators have no bodyguards.
U.S. right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk in the crowd shortly before he was shot at a Utah Valley University speaking event in Orem, Utah, on Wednesday.Trent Nelson/The Salt Lake Tribune/Reuters
In Canada, meanwhile, politicians called for people south of the border to stop the killing.
“We must all unite, regardless of our political views, around a simple principle: Political violence is never acceptable. Every person should be free to express their opinion without fear of violence,” Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre said at a crime-policy announcement in the Toronto-area community of Woodbridge.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who appeared in March at a U.S. event with Ben Shapiro, another Trump-aligned media personality, said she had never met Mr. Kirk personally but has colleagues in the legislature who have.
“We should be able to have differences of opinion, talk it out. Sometimes it gets passionate. I understand that. But there’s no excuse for what happened yesterday,” she said.
With a report from Ian Bailey in Ottawa
An attendee of the event at a Utah university campus where Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump, was shot and killed Wednesday, said "there wasn't any security checkpoints."
The Associated Press