The FBI on Thursday released new photos of a person of interest in the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University and appealed for public assistance.
“We’re releasing additional photos of the person of interest in connection with the murder of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University,” the bureau said in a statement posted on X. “Please send all tips available to FBI Salt Lake City.”
Kirk, 31, a prominent podcast host and radio commentator, was fatally shot while addressing a crowd of about 3,000 during his “Prove Me Wrong” campus tour. Security footage shows a person climbing stairwells to a rooftop before firing a high-powered bolt-action rifle. Kirk was struck in the neck while answering a question about mass shootings.
The gunman fled by jumping from the roof into a nearby neighbourhood. The weapon was recovered. Officials described the shooter as “college age” and able to blend into the crowd.
“This remains a developing investigation,” FBI Special Agent Robert Bohls said, confirming that federal and state agencies are working together to track the suspect. “The FBI continues to work alongside our law enforcement partners to seek justice in the murder of Charlie Kirk.”
The FBI urged anyone with information to submit tips through its website. https://tips.fbi.gov/digitalmedia/f4507712a3b2893
Investigators recovered a palm print, a shoe impression and a high-powered rifle after the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, but have yet to identify a suspect or motive.
The items were found in a wooded area along the shooter’s escape route from Utah Valley University. Officials called the killing the latest episode of political violence in the United States.
Two people detained shortly after Wednesday’s attack were released, leaving investigators to pursue a separate person of interest. The FBI said the shooter blended into the campus crowd with a “college-age” appearance before firing a single shot from a rooftop.
President Donald Trump condemned the killing and said Kirk would be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Vice President JD Vance travelled to Utah with his wife, Usha, to meet Kirk’s family and later accompanied his casket aboard Air Force Two to Phoenix, home of Turning Point USA.
Vance described Kirk as central to the administration’s rise. “So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organise and convene,” he wrote on X.
Funeral plans in Arizona have not yet been announced.
Source: ANI