The FBI has released six images of a person of interest in connection with the shooting of Charlie Kirk as they appealed to the public for help with the gunman behind the assassination not yet identified.
Authorities said Thursday they have recovered a high-powered, bolt-action rifle they believe was used in the attack and are reviewing video footage of the person they believe was responsible.
The shooter appeared to be of college age and blended in on the university campus where Kirk was killed Wednesday, said Beau Mason, the commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety. It remained unclear how far the shooter has traveled, though law enforcement officials say nearby woods where the rifle was found have been secured.
Even as law enforcement officials revealed new details about an attack they called targeted, much remained unclear nearly 24 hours later, including the sniper’s identity, motive and whereabouts. Two people detained Wednesday were released after neither was determined to be connected to the shooting, but by Thursday officials expressed confidence they had tracked the shooter’s movements on campus in the run-up to it.
Thursday afternoon, the FBI released two photos of a person of interest in connection with the shooting as investigators appealed to the public for information. The photos show a person wearing a hat, sunglasses and a long-sleeve black shirt.
Later, just after 7 p.m., the Utah police released four more photos of the person of interest on X.
A batch of 911 traffic released Thursday from the Utah County Department of Public Safety via Broadcastify includes callers describing seeing a person on campus wearing “jeans, black shirt, black mask” and carrying a “long rifle.”
Another caller mentions a black vest.
Officials have been able to track the gunman’s movements before and after he shot Kirk up until the suspect seemingly disappeared.
Utah DPS Commissioner Beau Mason said the shooter arrived on the campus of Utah Valley University at 11:52 a.m. Authorities then tracked the subject through stairwells and up to and across the roof from where they fired the fatal shot.
After the shooting, Mason said officials tracked the shooter’s movements as the suspect moved to the other side of the building, jumped off the roof and fled to a nearby neighborhood.
Officials were combing through the neighborhood and contacting witnesses, as well as anyone with doorbell cameras, to identify leads.
“We do have good video footage of this individual. We are not going to release that at this time,” Mason said. “We are working through some technologies and some ways to identify this individual.”
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. Besides the spent cartridge recovered in the chamber, three other rounds were loaded in the magazine. The weapon and ammunition are being forensically analyzed by law enforcement at a federal lab for clues that could help identify the shooter or the motive.
Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump, was killed in broad daylight while speaking about social issues at a Utah Valley University campus courtyard. The circumstances brought renewed attention to the escalating threat of political violence in the United States that in the last several years has cut across the ideological spectrum. The killing drew bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive.
The attack was captured on grisly videos circulating on social media that show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone when suddenly a shot rang out.
Immediately before the shooting, Kirk 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 gunshot was heard. 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.
Trump said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., while Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, were set to visit with Kirk’s family in Salt Lake City. 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 Trump’s second Republican 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.”
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