Update: Kirk’s casket was to be flown aboard Air Force Two from Utah to Arizona, where his his nonprofit political youth organization, Turning Point USA, is based.
(AP) - Investigators released two images of the 'person of interest' and appealed for tips to help solve the shooting of Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young voters.
The unidentified suspect is believed to have jumped off a roof and fled into a neighborhood after firing one shot, authorities said Thursday. A high-powered, bolt-action rifle they believe was used in the attack was recovered, and video recordings of the person they believe was responsible are being reviewed.
Kirk’s assassination renews attention to escalating threats of political violence in the United States that cut across the ideological spectrum. His killing is drawing bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence appears elusive.
The Latest:
The FBI has released photos of a ‘person of interest’
The agency released two photos of a ‘person of interest’ in connection with the shooting of Charlie Kirk as investigators appeal to the public for information. The photos show a person wearing a hat, sunglasses and a long sleeve black shirt.
Rifle and ammunition being checked for clues
Law enforcement recovered a Mauser .30 caliber bolt-action rifle hidden in a towel in a wooded area near the university campus along what they suspect to be the shooter’s path as they fled the scene, according to information circulated among law enforcement and shared with The Associated Press.
In addition to the spent cartridge recovered in the chamber, three other rounds were loaded in the magazine. The weapon and ammunition are now being forensically analyzed by law enforcement at a federal lab for clues that could help identify the shooter or their motive.
Utah campus classrooms show how students prepared for a shooter
Some attendees who bolted after the gunshot rushed into two classrooms full of students, where the periodic table adorned the wall and formulas were written in blue on the whiteboard. They pulled tables from the center of the room to barricade the door, stacking them atop each other. Others were turned on their side in a corner for a last ditch defense.
Desperate, someone grabbed an electric pencil sharpener and wrapped the cord tightly around the door handle, then tied the sharpener to a chair leg.
Thursday morning, the classrooms were quiet and in disarray. Backpacks and notebooks were left on the desks, some scribbled with notes on electromotive force in green pen and pink highlighter.
Trump to speak with Kirk’s family later Thursday
The president said he plans to speak with Kirk’s family on Thursday afternoon, and Vice President JD Vance is traveling to Utah Thursday to meet with Kirk’s family in person.
“They have a virtual manhunt out there. So we’ll see what happens,” Trump said in a brief exchange with reporters shortly after attending the a 9/11 memorial ceremony at the Pentagon. “We hope we get ’em.”
Scott Walker says Young America’s Foundation won’t stop holding events
The former Wisconsin governor, now president of the foundation, said his group will continue to hold events on college campuses to attract young people to the Republican Party. But they cancelled a Thursday night event in Santa Barbara featuring conservative commentator Ben Shapiro out of respect for Kirk and his family, Walker said.
“We will review our security measures to ensure the safety of our students, speakers, and staff,” Walker said in a statement on the group’s website. “This will likely mean that we will change venues and security measures for many of our events. But we will not stop. Doing so would mean that the evil assassin who did this wins. He must not win. The best way to honor Charlie’s life is to continue his work.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis: political violence threatens ‘what America’s all about’
The Florida Republican honored Kirk and called for nonviolent political participation as he marked 24 years since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks at an event in Palm Harbor on Thursday.
“The viability of a republic really depends on our ability to fight those battles in the proper arena, leading into voting, leading into debate,” DeSantis said. “It is certainly not that you kill somebody in order to silence them.”
Students at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton plan to gather Thursday evening to honor Kirk, holding a memorial service and prayer vigil at the student union on the Palm Beach County campus. “May he rest in Peace,” the FAU Turning Point USA chapter posted on its Instagram account. “Security will be present.”
Utah senator Mike Lee says Kirk’s death ‘hits home’
The Republican said the death of his friend “hits particularly hard.” Lee said he talked with his fellow conservative “very regularly, sometimes several times a day.”
Their last text exchange was a short time before Kirk’s death, Lee said at a hearing Thursday of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Lee is the panel’s chairman.
Lee said the shooting also “hits home particularly heavy with me” because Utah Valley University is just a few miles from where he grew up and near where he now lives. He’s attended events there since he was a teenager.
“And this is a safe place. Not the kind of place where you expect something like this to happen. It’s truly tragic.”
Openly carrying a long gun can be legal on college campuses in Utah
Utah is one of 14 states that allow some level of concealed carry of firearms on public college and university campuses. The other 13 include Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming. The remaining 36 states allow colleges and universities to keep concealed firearms off campus, according to the anti-violence organization Everytown for Gun Safety.
In May, after action by the Utah legislature, a law took affect that allows anyone at least 18 years old with a valid Utah concealed weapon permit to carry a weapon on campus, including in an “open” fashion. Prior to the passage and the signing of H.B. 128, the firearm had to have been concealed.
US warns visa applicants against cheering Kirk’s assassination
The State Department is warning foreign visa applicants and holders that they could be denied a U.S. visa or deported if they praise or make light of Kirk’s assassination.
In an unusual post to X, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said he’s personally disgusted by some posts he’s seen, and that consular officials have been directed “to undertake appropriate action.”
“In light of yesterday’s horrific assassination of a leading political figure, I want to underscore that foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” Landau said. He asked social media users to copy him on any posts they see that could be relevant.
Earlier this year, Landau announced that he had revoked visas for British punk-rap performer Bob Vylan and his crew after they led crowds in chanting “death” to the Israeli military.
Chuck Schumer calls political violence ‘enemy of democracy’
The Senate Democratic leader called for the condemnation of political violence following Kirk’s “heinous murder.”
He also asked on the Senate floor for prayers for Kirk’s family.
“There should be no finger pointing because this is an attack on our democracy itself,” Schumer said.
Saying the attack on Kirk was “heinous, cowardly and would make everyone sick to their stomachs,” Schumer also decried the 2017 shooting that wounded current House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and “the politically motivated murders” of Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband this year.
Schumer also mentioned a shooting at a suburban Denver high school on Wednesday, in which two students were reportedly injured.
Investigators analyzing a palm print, other evidence
Investigators are confident they will find the shooter, said Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason.
They now have images of a suspect and were analyzing a palm print and a shoe impression found near the scene, he said.
Authorities aren’t planning to release images of the suspect unless they need the public’s help, Mason said.
Two other people initially detained turned out to be uninvolved and were released. Unfortunately, they’ve been getting death threats, Mason said: “They don’t deserve that.”