Suspect identified in Charlie Kirk assassination, ‘high-powered’ rifle found
After detaining and releasing two persons of interest on Wednesday following the assassination of Charlie Kirk , FBI officials said Thursday morning that they have identified the person believed to be responsible for the shooting.
The officials did not name the suspect or release an image, but confirmed the shooter was "college age" and blended in with the crowd at Utah Valley University, where Kirk was speaking when he was shot and killed. Investigators have since recovered a "high-powered" bolt-action rifle believed to be used in the shooting, said Robert Bohls, special agent in charge of the F.B.I.'s Salt Lake City office.
The rifle was found in a wooded area where the suspect fled after the shooting, he said during a Thursday morning press conference.
"I understand there are a lot of questions about motive. I assure you that all leads and tips are being fully investigated," he said. "The FBI has brought every resource to bear, and we will continue to do so throughout the course of this investigation."
"We will relentlessly pursue this case and the shooter until we find him," Bohls continued.
The suspect arrived at Utah Valley University around 11:52 a.m. Wednesday, several hours before Kirk was shot. Investigators have tracked his movements onto the campus, through stairwells up to a roof, then across the roof to a "shooting location," said Beau Mason, the commissioner of Utah's Department of Public Safety.
From there, the suspect jumped off the building, fled off campus and into a neighborhood, he said.
"We do have good video footage of this individual," Mason said. "We are investing everything we have into this, and we will catch this individual."
Kirk, 31, was the co-founder and CEO of Turning Point USA, and became a prominent conservative figure, regularly appearing on cable TV, where he leaned into the culture wars and heaped praise on President Donald Trump.
Authorities did not immediately identify a motive behind the killing of Kirk, who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters. But 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. The assassination 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 gunshot 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.
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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