Charlie Kirk shooting: Images of person of interest released, $100K reward announced amid manhunt
Cartridges with “transgender and anti-fascist” writing on them were found.
The FBI and Utah authorities have released new images of a person of interest sought in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
“We are asking for the public’s help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University,” the FBI’s Salt Lake City office said on X on Thursday while sharing two images of the individual, who is wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses and was captured in a stairwell in one of them.
The Utah Department of Public Safety released additional photos Thursday evening of the person of interest, in which the individual can be seen on steps while carrying a black backpack and wearing a shirt with what appeared to be an American flag print on it.
The screenshots were pulled from campus security footage just before the shooting, according to the Utah Department of Public Safety.
The FBI said it is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person responsible for Kirk’s murder.
‘High-powered’ firearm recovered
Amid the manhunt for the suspect, who is believed to be college-aged, officials said Thursday they are working “around the clock” to locate the individual.
The FBI also said Thursday it has recovered what is believed to be the weapon used in the deadly shooting. A “high-powered bolt action rifle” was recovered in a wooded area near where the shooting took place, according to Salt Lake City FBI Special Agent Robert Bohls.
The rifle is an older model imported Mauser .30-06 caliber bolt action rifle wrapped in a towel, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News. The location of the firearm appears to match the suspect’s route of travel, the sources said.
The spent cartridge was still chambered and three unspent cartridges contained wording on them expressing what some law enforcement officials described as “transgender and anti-fascist” writing, according to preliminary information shared with agencies. It’s unclear what that means and authorities are still working to determine the meaning or whether the markings were intended as misdirection for investigators.
The gun and cartridges recovered are to be flown to the FBI’s main laboratory in Quantico, Virginia, for the most technologically advanced forensic analysis, law enforcement sources told ABC News. The focus is to look for any latent fingerprints and DNA, the sources said. Upon completion of forensics, the firearm will be disassembled for additional importer information.
Tracking the shooter’s movements
Officials said they have been able to track the movements of the shooter and have “good” video footage of the individual, Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said on Thursday. The video footage will not be released to the public at this time, Mason said.
At 11:52 a.m. on Wednesday, the suspect arrived on the Orem campus and then proceeded to travel through the stairwells up to the roof of a building near the where the outdoors event was taking place, before the suspect fired down at Kirk, Mason said.
Kirk was hit by a single shot at approximately 12:20 p.m. and taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.
After the shooting, the suspect traveled to the other side of building, jumped off and fled off-campus into a neighborhood, Mason said. Officials are working through nearby neighborhoods, contacting people with doorbell cameras and speaking to witnesses to identify any leads, Mason said.
Along with recovering the weapon, Bohls said investigators have also collected a footwear impression, palm print and forearm imprints for analysis.
Officials emphasized the shooting was a “targeted” attack and they are “exhausting every lead.”
“We will not stand for what happened yesterday,” Mason said. “We are investing everything we have into this and we will catch this individual.”
Authorities are searching for “any and all potential suspects related to this incident,” the Utah Department of Public Safety said Thursday afternoon.
“Multiple leads are currently being investigated, but no suspect is in custody,” it said.
The FBI asked for tips from the public as the manhunt for the perpetrator continues, urging anyone with information, photos or video from the incident to share it with investigators. So far, the Utah Department of Public Safety said it has received more than 200 tips, as the search for the shooting suspect continues.
“I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this, we will find you. We will try you, and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law,” Cox said during a press briefing Wednesday, calling the fatal shooting a “political assassination.”
Trump blames political rhetoric
Asked if he was concerned that authorities have not yet apprehended the suspect, now more than 24 hours after the shooting, President Donald Trump told reporters Thursday, “I hear they’re making big progress, and we’ll have to see what happens.”
Pressed if he knew the shooter’s motivation, Trump said he has “an indication, yeah, but we’ll let you know about that later.”
In the wake of the shooting, Trump and prominent MAGA personalities have sought to tie the killing to Democratic political rhetoric.
In a video posted to social media late Wednesday, Trump said, “It’s a long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree.”
“For years, those on the radical Left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals,” he added. “This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.”
He listed recent examples of political violence in the country against Republicans, but did not mention any targeting Democrats, such as the shootings of two Minnesota state lawmakers at their homes in June.
In his remarks with reporters on Thursday, the president said he would like to see his supporters respond with “nonviolence.”
Trump’s son Eric, meanwhile, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity he was “sick and tired of seeing the bullets — they are only going one way.”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox got emotional Wednesday as he delivered a message mentioning recent attacks on both Democrats and Republicans.
“Our nation is broken,” Cox said. “We’ve had political assassinations recently in Minnesota. We had an attempted assassination on the governor of Pennsylvania. And we had an attempted assassination on a presidential candidate and former president of the United States — and now current president of the United States. Nothing I say can unite us as a country. Nothing I can say right now can fix what is broken. Nothing I can say can bring back Charlie Kirk. Our hearts are broken.”
Trump’s son Eric, meanwhile, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity he was “sick and tired of seeing the bullets — they are only going one way.”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox got emotional Wednesday as he delivered a message mentioning recent attacks on both Democrats and Republicans.
“Our nation is broken,” Cox said. “We’ve had political assassinations recently in Minnesota. We had an attempted assassination on the governor of Pennsylvania. And we had an attempted assassination on a presidential candidate and former president of the United States — and now current president of the United States. Nothing I say can unite us as a country. Nothing I can say right now can fix what is broken. Nothing I can say can bring back Charlie Kirk. Our hearts are broken.”
Controversial campus visit
Kirk — a 31-year-old father of two — was considered a confidant of Trump and highly influential in the conservative youth movement.
He founded the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA in 2012 at the age of 18, and in the 2024 elections was credited with building significant support for Trump among young voters.
The Utah event was expected to include a “prove me wrong” table, according to the tour’s website.
Ahead of the conservative political activist’s visit to Utah Valley University, some students started an online petition asking university administrators to stop him from coming.
Though Kirk’s visit was controversial on campus, police were tracking no specific or credible threats before the fatal shooting, Utah law enforcement sources told ABC News.
More than 3,000 people were estimated to be at the event, according to the university’s police chief, Jeff Long. There were six police officers, along with Kirk’s private security, according to Long.
UVU will be closed until Sept. 14, according to a notice posted on the university’s website.
‘Unrelated’ person arrested
The Utah Department of Public Safety said Thursday that an “unrelated subject” was arrested at the university Thursday morning. The individual entered the school grounds, entered a secured area and began to take photos of the crime scene, it said.
“When an agent ordered him to stop and attempted to identify him, the male fled on foot but was soon apprehended by other officers,” the department said. “He has been booked into the Utah County Jail for felony obstruction and trespassing.
The department also said in an update Wednesday night that two people were initially taken into custody after the shooting but later released.
The first was released and later charged with obstruction by university police. The second person was taken into custody and released after an “interrogation” by law enforcement, the department said.
Utah authorities said, “there are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals.”
White House tributes to Kirk
Trump ordered all American flags throughout the country to be lowered to half-staff through Sunday evening in Kirk’s honor. On Thursday, he also announced he will posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, saying he was a “giant of his generation.”
“It’s horrific. It’s one of the most horrible things I’ve ever seen,” Trump told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl on Wednesday.
“He was a great guy,” Trump said. “He was a good man. He was an incredible guy. Nobody like him.”
Trump told reporters Thursday that he had a “long talk” with Kirk’s widow, Erika.
“She’s devastated. She’s absolutely devastated, as you can imagine,” he said.
Vice President JD Vance and the second lady will meet with Kirk’s family and a number of his close friends in Salt Lake City, a source confirmed to ABC News. Kirk’s casket, along with his family and friends, will then be flown to Phoenix aboard Air Force Two, the source also confirmed.
Vance called Kirk “a genuinely good guy and a young father” while urging prayers in the aftermath of the shooting on Wednesday.
Condemnation over the attack came from both sides of the political spectrum.
“There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now,” Former President Joe Biden said. “Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirk’s family and loved ones.”
“The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying and this growing type of unconscionable violence cannot be allowed in our society,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said on X.
Fellow Democratic governor, California’s Gavin Newsom, said on X that the “attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.”
ABC News’ Aaron Katersky, Luke Barr, Josh Margolin, Ivan Pereira, Lalee Ibssa, Isabella Murray, Katherine Faulders, Jack Date, Chris Looft and Helena Skinner contributed to this report.
