FBI video shows the Charlie Kirk shooting suspect fleeing the scene
The FBI has released a series of photos and a video of the person they believe is responsible for the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Kirk was shot by a single bullet on Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University, just moments after he had been asked about mass shootings in America. He was taken to the hospital but later died.
The new video shows a person wearing a hat, sunglasses, a black long-sleeve shirt and a backpack fleeing from the university roof after the shooting before walking through a nearby neighbourhood.
In the ensuing manhunt, the FBI has made a direct appeal to the public for any information that could lead to the identification of the suspect, offering a reward of up to $100,000 (£73,664).
Officials said they have received more than 7,000 leads and tips, but no suspect has been named and no motive identified in what is the latest act of political violence to shake the US.
Alongside images and video footage, officials have recovered a palm print, a shoe impression and a Mauser 30-calibre bolt-action rifle, found wrapped in a towel in the woods. A spent cartridge was still in the chamber, with three more rounds in the magazine.
The search continues on Friday, nearly two days after Kirk’s death.
A high-powered rifle, thought to have fired the shot that killed Charlie Kirk as he spoke at a student rally in Utah, was found in nearby woodland, as ITV News US Correspondent Dan Rivers reports
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, agent Robert Bohles said: “I can tell you that we have recovered what we believe is the weapon that was used in yesterday’s shooting is a high-powered bolt-action rifle.
“That rifle was recovered in a wooded area where the shooter had fled. The FBI laboratory will be analysing this weapon.”
Investigators said they were “confident in [their] abilities to track [the] individual.”
Beau Mason, Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety, said investigators had worked “throughout the night” on Wednesday and were able to make “some breakthroughs.”
“We were able to track the movements of the shooter starting at 11:52 am,” he added. “The suspect arrived on campus shortly away from the event.
“We have tracked his movements onto the campus through the stairwells, up to the roof, across the roof, to a shooting location.
“After the shooting, we were able to track his movements as he moved to the other side of the building, jumped off of the building and fled, off of the campus and into a neighbourhood.”
He added that he had spoken to Charlie Kirk’s wife, saying: “Their family is devastated. I can only imagine what that family is going through. The heinous event that happened yesterday is not Utah.”
Republicans and Democrats appalled by the violence have paid tribute to Kirk. In a service held at the Pentagon on Thursday to commemorate the 9/11 attacks, Trump announced Kirk will be awarded a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Official flags will also be flown at half-mast in honour of the 31-year-old until Sunday, as requested by the president.
“Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty, and an inspiration to millions and millions of people,” said Trump.
“Our prayers are with his wonderful wife, Erica, and his beautiful children.
“We miss him greatly, yet I have no doubt that Charlie’s voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on.”
Kirk regularly hosted events at universities and spoke on conservative panels.
He founded the organisation Turning Point USA, a pressure group campaigning for increased conservative politics and values in schools, colleges, and university campuses.
The event at the Utah Valley campus, billed ‘The American Comeback Tour’, had generated a polarising reaction among students.
An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures. The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its “commitment to free speech”.
The shooting comes after a string of instances of political violence in the US, including the murder of a Democratic Minnesota lawmaker and her husband in June, an arson attack at the Pennsylvania governor’s house in April, and the assassination attempt against Donald Trump during the presidential election last July.
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