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The FBI released new images on Friday of a ‘person of interest’ in the shooting dead of Charlie Kirk. <\/p>\nA suspect in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah university has been taken into custody, US president Donald Trump said on Friday, ending an intense manhunt that followed what Trump described as a \u201cheinous assassination\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mr Kirk\u2019s killer has eluded police and federal agents for more than 24 hours after Wednesday\u2019s shooting, in which a sniper fired a single gunshot that killed the right-wing commentator during an appearance at Utah Valley University in Orem.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we have him,\u201d Mr Trump told Fox News in an interview, adding that a person who knows the suspect had turned him in. He said there was a \u201chigh degree of certainty\u201d that the gunman was in custody.<\/p>\n
Mr Trump said that a \u201cminister who was involved with law enforcement\u201d allegedly recognised the shooter. Then the shooter\u2019s father convinced his child to go to the police. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey have somebody that they think did it,\u201d Mr Trump added. Utah law enforcement sources confirmed to the Reuters news agency that a suspect is in their custody.<\/p>\n
He went on to say: \u201cI hope he gets the death penalty.\u201d<\/p>\n
The president, when asked about how we \u201cfix the country\u201d or \u201ccome back together\u201d after Mr Kirk\u2019s shooting, says that he \u201ccouldn\u2019t care less\u201d, describing left-wing \u201cradicals\u201d as \u201cvicious and horrible\u201d. <\/p>\n
Previously, US investigators said they had found the bolt-action rifle believed to have been used to kill Mr Kirk and released images of a person of interest.<\/p>\n
The FBI had circulated grainy images apparently taken from security cameras showing a \u201cperson of interest\u201d wearing a black top, black sunglasses and a dark baseball cap. The long-sleeved top appears to have been emblazoned with an image of a bald eagle flying across a US flag.<\/p>\n
The FBI released new images on Friday of a ‘person of interest’ in the shooting dead of Charlie Kirk. <\/p>\n
Mr Kirk, an author, podcast host and close ally of Mr Trump, helped build the Republican Party\u2019s support among younger voters.<\/p>\n
FBI and state officials said the killer arrived on the campus a few minutes before the start of the event, a debate led by Mr Kirk titled \u201cProve Me Wrong\u201d in front of 3,000 people at Utah Valley, about 65 kilometres south of Salt Lake City.<\/p>\n
Security-camera videos showed a person going up stairwells to gain access to a roof before firing at Mr Kirk, the officials said at a press briefing. Mr Kirk, a staunch defender of gun rights, was answering an audience question about mass shootings when the bullet struck his neck. Audience members fled in panic.<\/p>\n
The gunman jumped off the roof and fled into an adjoining neighborhood, said Robert Bohls, an FBI special agent in charge.<\/p>\n
Investigators found a \u201chigh-powered, bolt-action\u201d rifle in a nearby wooded area, and were examining that along with palm prints and footprints for clues.<\/p>\n
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An investigator with the Utah Department of Public Safety scours a residential backyard next to Utah Valley University the day after the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk in Orem, Utah. Photograph: Loren Elliott\/The New York Times<\/p>\n
On Thursday, with classes cancelled, the roof of the building on the otherwise deserted campus and the nearby woods were strung with yellow tape as investigators scoured them for evidence.<\/p>\n
The shooter appeared to be of college age and \u201cblended in well\u201d on the campus, Utah Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said at the briefing.<\/p>\n
Mr Kirk – the co-founder and president of the conservative student group Turning Point USA – appeared at Utah Valley on Wednesday as part of a planned 15-event \u201cAmerican Comeback Tour\u201d of US college campuses. His killing stirred outrage and denunciations of political violence from Democrats, Republicans and foreign governments.<\/p>\n