The manhunt for the person who shot and killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk remains underway Thursday, a day after the shocking scene at a Utah university.
The conservative activist, 31, was pronounced dead shortly after he was shot in the neck during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University.
President Donald Trump, a close ally of Kirk’s, announced the news himself in a post on Truth Social.
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump wrote Wednesday. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.”
Here’s what we know about the shooting.
When was Kirk shot?
Kirk was discussing mass shootings in the U.S. on Wednesday in the first stop of his “American Comeback Tour” when a single shot rang out at around 12:20 p.m., striking him in the neck.
Utah Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said Thursday morning the suspect arrived at the university at 11:52 a.m. Surveillance video tracked the shooter in stairwells, going up to and across the roof where the person filed the fatal shot.
The shooter then moved to the other side of the building, jumped off the roof and fled to a nearby neighborhood, Mason said.
The moment Kirk was shot was captured on video from multiple angles.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., called on the creators of social media platforms X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok to remove the “horrifying videos of Charlie Kirk’s murder.”
The graphic videos should be taken offline, she said, adding, “No one should be forced to relive this tragedy online.”
Witnesses described seeing Kirk slump backward before he hit the ground as chaos erupted among event attendees, who ran for cover.
“I saw a bunch of blood come out of Charlie,” witness Justin Hickens told NBC News’ Tom Llamas. “I saw his body kind of kick back and go limp, and everybody dropped to the ground.”
Another witness, Tyler McGettigan, told NBC News he was surprised that he wasn’t asked to go through security to get into the event. He also said that no one checked his ticket when entering and that there were no metal detectors posted outside.
Kirk was whisked away by his team and taken to the hospital in a private vehicle, where he later died.
Is there a suspect?
Officials are searching for the person responsible for firing the shot.
On Thursday, officials said the shooter appeared to be college-age, but declined to give more details. The shooter’s whereabouts remained unknown, but Mason said they are using technology to identify the shooter from video footage.
Mason said officials combed through the neighborhood where the shooter fled, speaking to witnesses and asking residents for doorbell camera footage in order 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 shooter is believed to have used a high-powered bolt-action rifle, Robert Bohls, special agent in charge of the FBI, said at the news conference Thursday.
He said the rifle was recovered in a wooded area where the shooter had fled. An FBI lab will analyze the weapon.
Investigators have also collected a “footwear impression, a palm print and forearm imprints for analysis,” Bohls said.
Authorities have said the shooting was a “targeted attack” and a “political assassination.”
The shooter appeared to have fired the fatal shot from the rooftop of a building about 200 yards from where Kirk was speaking to a crowd of thousands. The person was wearing all black and disappeared after the shooting took place, Mason said Wednesday.
Authorities took one man into custody shortly after the shooting and then released him soon after. Later in the evening, FBI Director Kash Patel posted on social media that a second man had been taken into custody, but less than two hours later, he said the person was released.
“There are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals,” authorities said last night. They are now asking the public for tips.
The Utah Valley University campus has been closed until at least next week.
Who was Charlie Kirk?
Kirk was an influential conservative activist and the co-founder of Turning Point USA, a nonprofit organization that promotes conservative political ideals to young people.
He often spoke at high schools and on college campuses, engaging in debate with the younger generation on topics such as gun violence and transgender rights.
Kirk, also a controversial podcaster, attached himself and his company to Trump during the 2016 election, becoming a staunch supporter of Trump’s politics and administration. He also made frequent appearances on Fox News.
Kirk promoted the idea that the 2020 election was stolen, and his group bused people to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6., 2021, when the Capitol was stormed by Trump supporters. He was a close friend of Vice President JD Vance and campaigned alongside Vance and Trump in 2024, speaking on the first night of the Republican National Convention in July 2024.