Authorities investigating the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk said they have obtained footage of the suspected gunman but that the video won’t be made public for now.
“We do have good video of this individual. We are not going to release that at this time,” Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason told reporters Thursday, the morning after 31-year-old Kirk was shot dead at Utah Valley University. “We’re working through some technologies and some ways to identify this individual.”
“If we are unsuccessful, we will reach out to you as the media, and we will push that publicly to help us identify them,” Mason said. “But we are confident in our abilities right now.”
He added that investigators want to “move forward in a manner that keeps everyone safe and moves this process appropriately.”
Mason said authorities have been able to piece together the suspect’s movements ahead of the attack. The man, whom Mason described as appearing to be “of college age,” arrived on the campus at 11:52 a.m. Wednesday. He then moved up to the roof of a building and made his way to a “shooting location,” Mason said.
After firing, the shooter went to the other side of the building and “jumped off,” Mason said, before fleeing the campus into a neighborhood. Authorities have sought leads, including by contacting those living in the area with doorbell cameras, Mason added.
Robert Bohls, the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Salt Lake City field office, said investigators believe they have recovered the weapon used in the attack. Bohls described the firearm as a high-powered, bolt-action rifle that was found in a “wooded area.” Bohls said the shooter was not found hiding in the area.
“We walked through those woods and secured it,” Bohls said. “As to the community, I can tell you that this was a targeted event. We don’t believe the community is at risk. However, we are exhausting every resource to find him, and we will do so.”
He added that additional evidence collected includes a “footwear impression,” a palm print, and a forearm print. When asked if the FBI already knows the identity of the gunman, Bohls declined to answer, saying he couldn’t release details about the investigation.
In the wake of the attack, one person was taken into custody and charged with obstruction, while a second person was detained but then later released. In a joint statement, the FBI and the Utah Public Safety Department subsequently said there are “are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals,” and that a manhunt for the shooter is ongoing.
Kirk, the co-founder and CEO of the right-wing youth organization Turning Point USA, was a stalwart ally of President Trump. Vice President JD Vance, a close friend of Kirk, pulled out of a planned trip to a ceremony commemorating the Sept. 11 terror attacks in New York City on Thursday to travel to Salt Lake City and pay his respects to Kirk’s family.
Speaking at another ceremony at the Pentagon memorializing the 24th anniversary of the terror attacks on Thursday, Trump said he will posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honor. Trump lauded Kirk as a “giant of his generation” and a “champion of liberty.”
The move comes after Trump released a four-minute video in the wake of Kirk’s death describing him as a “martyr.” He also blamed the attack on the rhetoric of the “radical left.”
Authorities have not yet released a motive for the attack, which Utah’s Republican Gov. Spencer Cox described as “a political assassination.”
