Breakthrough in hunt for 'college age' suspect in Charlie Kirk shooting Robin Levinson King and Regan Morris September 12, 2025 at 12:56 AM 0 The suspect in the killing of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Wednesday appears to be "college age", say investigators.
- - Breakthrough in hunt for 'college age' suspect in Charlie Kirk shooting
Robin Levinson King - and Regan Morris -September 12, 2025 at 12:56 AM
0
The suspect in the killing of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Wednesday appears to be "college age", say investigators.
Officials told media they have "good video footage" of the gunman, but are not releasing it yet. They said they have tracked the suspect's movements as he jumped off a roof and fled the campus into a neighbourhood.
Kirk, 31, who founded conservative youth political group Turning Point USA, was shot in the neck on campus while speaking to students.
FBI special agent in charge Robert Bohls said they had recovered the suspected weapon - a high-powered rifle - in a wooded area near the scene, as well as a palm print and a "footwear impression".
He told a news conference on Thursday they do not think there is a risk to the community in the city of Orem, 40 miles (64km) south of Salt Lake City.
Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said the gunman - who has not been publicly identified - "appears to be of college age", and had blended well into the campus environment.
Live updates from the manhunt
Killing of Trump ally lays bare America's bloody and broken politics
Obituary: Charlie Kirk
"We're not releasing many details right now," Mason added. "We will soon. But right now, we're not."
A motive for the shooting is still unknown, though Utah Governor Spencer Cox called it a "political assassination".
Kirk, who frequently held debates and speaking events on university campuses, was addressing a crowd of about 3,000 people and discussing gun violence in the US in the moments before he was shot.
"Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?" an audience member asked at the event, titled Prove Me Wrong.
"Too many," replied Kirk.
The questioner said there had been five in 10 years and asked Kirk how many mass shooters there had been in that time.
"Counting or not counting gang violence?" Kirk replied before gunfire rang out.
He was pronounced dead at a local hospital hours later.
He leaves behind a wife, Erika, and two children, a one-year-old son and three-year-old daughter.
Investigators say the suspect arrived on campus at 11:52 local time on Wednesday - just under half an hour before Kirk was killed with a single shot at around 12:20.
The gunman reached his position by climbing the stairwells to the roof and then making his way across to the shooting location. After opening fire, he jumped off the building and escaped, officials said.
People later gathered near campus hoping to retrieve vehicles and other possessions left behind as they had fled the scene.
"It's scary," student Brock Anderson told the BBC. "It's unsettling around the campus right now."
Vice-President JD Vance, a close friend of Kirk and his family, is travelling to Utah to pay his respects.
He and his wife, Usha, cancelled their trip to New York City, where they initially planned to visit Ground Zero and attend a ceremony commemorating the 24th anniversary 9/11.
After attending a 9/11 memorial service at the Pentagon on Thursday, President Donald Trump expressed his condolences and said: "You don't replace a Charlie Kirk.
"He's unique, as you all know," added the president, who has himself survived two attempts on his life.
He said he intends to honour Kirk by posthumously awarding him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honour.
Trump said he would call Kirk's family this afternoon, and that he had been briefed on the investigation.
Source: "AOL AOL General News"
Source: CR MAG
Full Article on Source: CR MAG
#ShowBiz #Sports #Celebrities #Lifestyle