The sniper who assassinated Charlie Kirk is believed to have jumped off a roof and blended in on the Utah Valley University campus after firing a single shot during Kirk’s “The American Comeback” event, authorities said Thursday.
The suspect has not yet been identified, but appeared to be of “college age,” officials said, noting the shooter fled into a nearby neighborhood. Authorities disclosed they have recovered a high-powered rifle in their investigation.
“I can tell you this was a targeted event,” said Robert Bohls, the top FBI agent in Salt Lake City.
Two people were detained Wednesday, but neither was determined to be connected to the shooting and both were released, public safety officials said.
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Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was killed with a gunshot from a distant rooftop at the Utah campus, where he was speaking Wednesday. Federal, state and local authorities were working what they called “multiple active crime scenes.”
“This is a dark day for our state. It’s a tragic day for our nation,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Wednesday. “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. 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.” Kirk, a suburban Chicago native, was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political youth organization, Turning Point USA, at the Sorensen Center courtyard on campus.
Immediately before the shooting, he was taking questions from an audience member about gun violence.
“Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?” the person asked. Kirk responded, “Too many.”
The questioner followed up: “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?”
“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk asked.
Then a shot rang out. Stunned spectators gasped and screamed before people start running away.
Madison Lattin was watching only a few dozen feet from Kirk’s left when she heard the bullet hit him.
“Blood is falling and dripping down, and you’re just like so scared, not just for him but your own safety,” she said.
She said she saw people drop to the ground in an eerie silence pierced immediately by cries. She and others ran. Some fell and were trampled in the stampede.
When Lattin later learned that Kirk had died, she wept, she said, describing him as a role model who had showed her how to be determined and fight for the truth.
The shooter, who Cox pledged would be held accountable in a state with the death penalty, wore dark clothing and fired from a building roof some distance 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 attending an outdoor ceremony to commemorate Sept. 11 in New York.
Vance posted a remembrance on X chronicling their friendship, dating back to initial messages in 2017, through Vance’s Senate run and ultimately praying after hearing of the shooting. Kirk played a pivotal role in setting up the second Trump administration, Vance wrote.
“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.”
Trump announced Thursday he’ll posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Trump said he remained shocked by the horror of Kirk’s assassination praised his ally’s impact on conservative politics.
“Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people,” Trump said.
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