Investigators in Charlie Kirk killing find weapon, release images of person of interest

By Andrew Hay and Brad Brooks

OREM, Utah (Reuters) - U.S. investigators on Thursday released photos and a video of a person of interest in the fatal shooting of influential conservative activist Charlie Kirk and said they had found the rifle believed to have been used in the politically charged killing.

Kirk, a 31-year-old author, podcast host and close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, helped build the Republican Party's support among younger voters. He was killed on Wednesday by a single gunshot as he gave a talk at a university in Utah in what Trump called a "heinous assassination."

Investigators have yet to publicly discuss any motive, but Trump told reporters that he had an indication of the killer's motivation. "We'll let you know about that later," he said, adding that law enforcement was making "big progress" in the investigation. 

FBI and state officials said the killer arrived on the campus a few minutes before the start of the event, a debate led by Kirk titled "Prove Me Wrong" outdoors in front of 3,000 people at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, about 40 miles (65 km) south of Salt Lake City.

Security-camera videos show a person going up stairwells to get onto a roof before firing at Kirk, the officials told a press conference. Kirk, a staunch defender of gun rights, was answering an audience question about mass shootings when the bullet struck his neck. Audience members fled in panic.

The FBI offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the killer's arrest and circulated grainy images taken from security cameras showing a "person of interest" wearing a black top, black sunglasses and a dark baseball cap. The long-sleeved top was emblazoned with an image of a bald eagle flying across a U.S. flag.

A second batch of photos released by Utah state officials showed slightly clearer images of the slender young man, revealing greater details of his backpack and Converse shoes.

Officials also released video of a man climbing down off the roof from where the sniper fired the fatal round. That person left a palm imprint and other DNA materials on the building as he dropped down to the ground, Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said.

The video also showed the man crossing a street and moving into a wooded area near campus, which is where authorities said they found a "high-powered, bolt-action" rifle.

The shooter has not been publicly identified, though lawmakers, commentators and online sleuths have already filled social media and message boards with speculation and blame-casting about the killer's ideology.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox appealed to the public for help.

“We cannot do our job without the public’s help right now,” he told reporters.

He said investigators had received over 7,000 tips from the public and investigators had conducted over 200 interviews.

FBI Director Kash Patel traveled to Utah and appeared at a press briefing with state and federal officials, but did not speak. 

TRUMP TO AWARD KIRK TOP HONOR

Kirk - co-founder and president of the conservative student group Turning Point USA - was appearing at the Utah university on Wednesday as part of a planned 15-event "American Comeback Tour" of U.S. college campuses. His killing stirred outrage and denunciations of political violence from Republicans, Democrats and foreign governments.

Trump said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. Vice President JD Vance canceled his trip to New York to commemorate the attacks by al Qaeda on September 11, 2001, and instead traveled to Utah to see Kirk's family and to fly them and Kirk's casket home to Arizona aboard Air Force Two.

Kirk began in conservative and right-wing politics as a teenager, a career he has described as shaped by his Christian faith. A little more than a decade later, some of the friends he made along the way are now at the highest levels of U.S. government and media, with Vance recalling that he was in multiple group chats with Kirk.    "So much of the success we've had in this administration traces directly to Charlie's ability to organize and convene," Vance wrote in a tribute posted on social media. "He didn't just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government."

     ERA OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE

The shooting punctuated the most sustained period of U.S. political violence since the 1970s. Reuters has documented more than 300 cases of politically motivated violent acts across the ideological spectrum since supporters of Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.     Trump himself has survived two attempts on his life last year, one that left him with a grazed ear during a campaign event and another two months later foiled by federal agents.    Kirk, who was married and the father of two young children, was celebrated by Republicans as a charismatic advocate for right-wing policies on race, gender, immigration, religion and gun regulation. He frequently engaged with his critics from the far left to the far right, often inviting members of his audiences to debate him live.

Trump told reporters that he had spoken with Kirk's wife, Erika Frantzve, "And she's devastated, she's absolutely devastated, as you can imagine." 

(Reporting by Andrew Hay in Orem, and Brad Brooks in Colorado; Additional reporting by Jana Winter, Helen Coster, Jasper Ward, James Oliphant, Bo Erickson, Andrea Shalal, Kanishka Singh, Ismail Shakil, Julia Harte, Sarah N. Lynch and Jarrett Renshaw; Writing by Steve Gorman, Jonathan Allen and Daniel Trotta; Editing by Frank McGurty)