OREM, Utah — A massive manhunt is underway for the person responsible for the death of Charlie Kirk, the 31-year-old founder of the prominent conservative youth organization Turning Point USA.
Kirk was shot and killed on Wednesday while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. The shooting, which has been called a “political assassination” by officials, occurred as Kirk addressed an estimated crowd of 3,000 people.
Two individuals who were taken into custody shortly after the shooting have since been released after authorities determined they were not connected to the crime. FBI Director Kash Patel had initially announced an arrest on social media but later retracted the statement, confirming that the suspect had been released.
Videos of the event show a person on the roof of a campus building over a hundred yards away, from where a single shot was fired, striking Kirk.
One video appeared to show Kirk’s head jerking back as blood poured from his neck. He was delivering remarks while sitting under a tent with the slogan “The American Comeback” printed on it.
Officials believe they have recovered the firearm used to shoot Kirk from a nearby roof. The gunman is male and “appears to be of college age,” according to Robert Bohls, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Salt Lake City field office.. The weapon is a “high-powered, bolt-action rifle” that was “recovered in a wooded area where the shooter had fled,” Bohls said at a news conference this morning.
The shooter arrived on campus at 11:52 a.m. local time, Commissioner Beau Mason said. Investigators have tracked his movements as he went to the roof, crossed to the other side of the building, jumped off, and fled into a nearby neighborhood, he added.
Kirk co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 at the age of 18 and has since become a prominent figure in conservative media. Turning Point USA is a sprawling right-wing political organization with more than 850 campus chapters. The group sends conservative speakers to college campuses and hosts conferences that convene thousands of young people for right-wing discussions of political issues like economics, race, and immigration.
President Trump called for prayers and blamed the “radical left” for the violence. The event highlights growing fears that political violence is becoming normalized in an increasingly polarized nation.
