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.
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.”
The suspect has not yet been identified, but appeared to be of “college age,” officials said, noting the shooter fled into a nearby neighborhood. During their news conference, law enforcement officials said they had obtained video footage of a suspected shooter and had recovered a “high-powered, bolt-action” rifle from a wooded area where the suspect fled.
“I can tell you this was a targeted event,” said Robert Bohls, the top FBI agent in Salt Lake City.
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.”
The FBI released an image Thursday of a person of interest they are seeking in connection to the shooting.
The photos show a person wearing a long-sleeve black shirt, black hat and sunglasses. The office provided a number for the public to submit tips: 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Two people were detained Wednesday, but neither was determined to be connected to the shooting and both were released, public safety officials said.
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.
“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.”
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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