Authorities say they have recovered a “high-powered, bolt-action rifle” they believe was used to kill Charlie Kirk as the manhunt for the suspect extends into a second day.
Law enforcement officials said that the shooter remains at large, though they have tracked his movements and have video footage of the suspect.
“We do have good video footage of this individual,” Utah Commissioner of Public Safety Beau Mason told reporters during a Thursday morning news conference. “We are not going to release it at this time.”
Mason said law enforcement was able to track the suspect from their arrival on the Utah Valley University campus at 11:52 a.m. through fleeing the scene after a single shot was fired around roughly 12:20 p.m. Law enforcement recovered the rifle believed to be used in the attack in a wooded area near the campus.
Investigators, Mason said, have reached out to residents in a nearby neighborhood to see if there were any witnesses or doorbell cameras that captured the suspect leaving the area.
Mason and Robert Bohls, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Salt Lake City field office, said they were holding back on releasing more details about the suspect for the time being.
Mason said the individual “appears to be of college age” and was able to “blend in” well with the Utah Valley University crowd that had gathered to hear Kirk speak.
Kirk was rushed to an area hospital after being shot in the neck but died from his injuries on Wednesday afternoon. President Donald Trump and scores of political and business leaders have praised Kirk’s legacy of building youth support for the conservative movement.
Two persons of interest were taken into custody on Wednesday but were released after authorities determined they were not involved in Kirk’s killing.
Bohls said the public needs to be patient with the investigation. Mason also asked people to stop harassing the two individuals who had since been released.
“Any attack on the First Amendment is an attack on the very foundation of our democracy,” Bohls said. “That is why we will relentlessly pursue this case and the shooter until we find him.”
Utah Valley University announced on Wednesday evening that its campus will remain closed through Sunday. Mason said that he spoke with Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s wife, on Wednesday and that law enforcement is doing everything it can to get Kirk’s body home to his family after an examination by the state medical examiner.
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