The shooter who assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk and then vanished off a roof and into the woods remained at large more than 24 hours later Friday as federal investigators appealed for the public's help by releasing photos of the person believed responsible.
Investigators obtained clues including a palm print, a shoe impression and a high-powered hunting rifle found in a wooded area along the path the shooter fled. But they had yet to name a suspect or cite a motive in the killing they were treating as the latest act of political violence to convulse the United States across the ideological spectrum.
The photos of a person in a hat, sunglasses and a long-sleeve black shirt, as well as a US$100,000 (NZ$167,400) reward for information leading to an arrest, suggested that law enforcement thought tips from the public might be needed to crack the case. Two people who were taken into custody shortly after Thursday's shooting at Utah Valley University were later released, forcing officials to chase new leads on a separate person of interest they pursued Thursday.
One clue was a Mauser .30-caliber, bolt-action rifle found in a towel in the woods. A spent cartridge was recovered from the chamber, and three other rounds were loaded in the magazine, according to information circulated among law enforcement and described to The Associated Press. The weapon and ammunition were being analysed by law enforcement at a federal lab.
The attack, carried out in a broad daylight as Kirk spoke about social issues from a university courtyard, was captured on grisly videos that spread on social media.
The videos show Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, speaking into a handheld microphone when suddenly a shot rings out. Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators gasp and scream before people start running away.
The shooter, who investigators believe blended into the campus crowd because of a "college-age" appearance, fired a single shot from the rooftop where they were perched before jumping off.
US correspondent Logan Church said emotions were running high as political violence intensified across the country. (Source: Breakfast)
"I can tell you this was a targeted event," said Robert Bohls, the top FBI agent in Salt Lake City.
Trump, who was joined by Democrats in condemning the violence, said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the US, while Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, arrived Thursday afternoon in Salt Lake City to visit with Kirk's family. 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.
"So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie's ability to organise and convene," Vance wrote. "He didn't just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government."
Kirk's casket was to be flown aboard Air Force Two from Utah to Arizona, where his non-profit political youth organization, Turning Point USA, is based. Trump told reporters he plans to attend Kirk's funeral. Details have not been announced.
Kirk was taking questions about gun violence
Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by Turning Point at the Sorensen Centre courtyard on campus.
The event, billed as the first stop on Kirk's "The American Comeback Tour," had generated a polarising campus reaction. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1000 signatures. The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its "commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue."
Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit was sparking controversy. He wrote, "What's going on in Utah?"
Immediately before the shooting, he took 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.
The shooter, who Governir Spencer 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.
Madison Lattin was watching 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 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 fight for the truth.
About 3000 people were in attendance, according to a statement from the Utah Department of Public Safety. The university police department had six officers working the event, along with Kirk's own security detail, authorities said.
Condemnation from across the political spectrum
The shooting drew swift bipartisan condemnation as Democratic officials joined Trump and other Republican allies of Kirk in decrying the violence.
"The murder of Charlie Kirk breaks my heart. My deepest sympathies are with his wife, two young children, and friends," said Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was wounded in a 2011 shooting in her Arizona district.
The shooting appeared poised to become part of a spike of political violence that has touched a range of ideologies and representatives of both major political parties. The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade in June to demand Hamas release hostages and a fire set at the house of Pennsylvania’s governor, who is Jewish, in April. The most notorious of these events is the shooting of Trump during a Pennsylvania campaign rally last year.
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