LATEST UPDATES AS OF 9:47 A.M. EASTERN:
The male suspect appears to be “college age,” the FBI says, and that they were able to “track his movements” across the campus.FBI says it has images of the suspect, but did not provide a physical description.Investigators recovered a weapon Thursday morning they believe may have been used in the killing.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has “images” of the suspect in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, a right-wing activist and ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, the agency revealed on Thursday morning.
“We have images of the suspect,” FBI special agent in charge Robert Bohls told reporters in Utah on Thursday.
Law enforcement agencies said they had accessed video footage of the suspect and confirmed that he arrived on campus at 11:52 a.m. local time on Wednesday.
Story continues below advertisement
“Suspect blended in well with a college institution. We’re not releasing any details right now. We will soon, but right now, we’re not. That individual appears to be of college age,” he added.
“We have tracked his movements onto the campus, through the stairwells, up to the roof, across the roof, to a shooting location,” said Beau Mason, commissioner for the Utah Department of Public Safety.
“After the shooting, we were able to track his movements as he moved to the other side of the building, jumped off of the building and fled off of the campus and into a neighborhood,” he added.
Mason said Kirk’s body will be flown to his home in Arizona on Thursday.
Bohls said the FBI recovered a weapon on Thursday, suspected of being the one used in the killing.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
“That rifle was recovered in a wooded area where the shooter had fled. The FBI laboratory will be analyzing this weapon. Investigators have also collected footwear. Impression of palm print and forearm imprints for analysis,” he said.
0:23
U.S. Conservative activist Charlie Kirk shot during event at Utah Valley University
On Wednesday, just hours after the incident, the FBI detained two suspects but later released them.
Story continues below advertisement
“The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency,” FBI director Kash Patel announced in a social media post.
Trump announced Kirk’s death on social media and praised the 31-year-old co-founder and CEO of Turning Point as “Great, and even Legendary.”
Later, he released a recorded video from the White House in which he called Kirk a “martyr for truth and freedom.”
More on Crime
More videos
Kirk was killed with a gunshot from a distant rooftop at the Utah Valley University campus, where he was speaking on Wednesday, authorities said.
Federal, state and local authorities were working what they called “multiple active crime scenes.”
Trending Now
Charlie Kirk dead after being shot at college event
Prime minister to announce the first series of major nation-building projects
As the search stretched into a second day, they provided little information about the shooter’s identity, motive, location or evidence and were reviewing grainy security videos of a mysterious person in dark clothing.
“This is a dark day for our state. It’s a tragic day for our nation,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said. “I want to be very clear this is a political assassination.”
The circumstances of the shooting drew renewed attention to an escalating threat of political violence in the United States that in the last several years has cut across the ideological spectrum.
Story continues below advertisement
The killing drew bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive.
Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans “The American Comeback” and “Prove Me Wrong.”
A shot rings out, and Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators gasp and scream before people start running away.
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, were set to visit with Kirk’s family on Thursday in Salt Lake City.
According to a person familiar with Vance’s plans but not authorized to speak about them publicly, the Vances will visit Utah instead of New York, which had been their planned destination for an outdoor ceremony to commemorate Sept. 11.
Vance posted a lengthy remembrance on X chronicling the origins of their friendship, dating back to initial messages in 2017, through Vance’s run for the Senate and ultimately praying after hearing of the shooting.
Through the years, Vance wrote, Kirk checked in and played a pivotal role in setting up the second Trump administration.
“So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene,” Vance wrote. “He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.”
Story continues below advertisement
–with files from Associated Press
More to come
© 2025 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.