Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, was shot and killed at a Utah college event in what the governor called a political assassination. The shooter has not been found.
Authorities say Kirk was killed with on Wednesday. Whoever fired the gun then slipped away amid the chaos of screams and students fleeing the Utah Valley University campus.
The circumstances of the shooting drew renewed attention to an that, in the last several years, has cut across the ideological spectrum. The assassination , but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive.
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FBI calls Kirk shooting ‘targeted event’
The person who fatally shot Kirk is believed to have targeted him at an event on a Utah college campus, said Robert Bohls, the FBI Special Agent in Charge at the Salt Lake City field office.
The shooter is still on the run, and it isn’t clear how far the suspect may have gotten, but the nearby woods have been secured, authorities said.
Authorities say Kirk suspect ‘appears to be of college age’
Law enforcement officials said the suspect they are seeking “appears to be of college age” and “blended in” with students on the college campus.
Officials asked the public to share any video and images they may have to help identify the person. Authorities said they have video footage of the suspected shooter but did not confirm that includes images of the person’s face.
A murder weapon has been recovered, authorities say
A high powered bolt-action rifle was found in a wooded area where the shooter fled, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls said.
Authorities say suspected Kirk shooter arrived on campus just before noon.
Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said authorities tracked the suspected shooter’s movements after he jumped from a building, moved through stairwells and ultimately fled from campus into a neighborhood.
“We do have good video of this individual,” Mason said.
Kirk leaves a legacy
The 31-year-old activist personified the that has taken over the Republican Party in the age of Trump.
who often made provocative statements about gender, race and politics, Kirk launched his organization, Turning Point USA, in 2012, targeting younger people and venturing onto liberal-leaning college campuses where many GOP activists were nervous to tread.
Searching for the shooter
Federal, state and local authorities are still searching for an unidentified shooter and working what they called “multiple active crime scenes.” Two people were detained Wednesday but neither was determined to be connected to the shooting and both were released, Utah public safety officials said. Authorities did not immediately identify a motive.
The Utah Department of Public Safety says its commissioner, as well as the FBI special agent in charge, will speak to reporters at 9 a.m. ET on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem. The news conference will be streamed on the department’s Instagram page.
Trump declares Kirk a ‘martyr’
In a late Wednesday, Trump called Kirk “a martyr for truth and freedom” and condemned the “demonizing” of political opponents in the U.S., even as he claimed the rhetoric of the “radical left” was “directly responsible” for the assassination of Kirk. The assassination .
The assassination has drawn bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive.
Vance is expected to meet with Kirk’s family in Salt Lake City
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, are 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 New York, which had been their planned destination for an outdoor ceremony to commemorate Sept. 11.
