More than 30 hours after a fatal shooting that has shaken the United States, the federal manhunt for US conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s killer was intensifying on Thursday night and early Friday morning.

Kirk, the 31-year-old author and podcast host who helped to revitalise the conservative youth vote and return US President Donald Trump to the White House, died shortly after being rushed to hospital on Wednesday with a gunshot wound to his neck.

On Thursday, authorities released photographs and showing a “person of interest” racing across a university rooftop from which the fatal shot is believed to have been fired. The suspect has not yet been identified.

Then, on Friday, US President Donald Trump announced “with a high degree of certainty” that the suspect had finally been caught

He told FOX News that the suspect, who he said is “28 or 29”, is in custody and that someone “very close to him turned him in”.

The suspect has not been publicly identified, however, and Trump added that an announcement would be made later.

Here is what we know about the latest in the investigation and Kirk’s killing:

What do we know about where the killer is now?

The suspect, who fatally wounded Kirk with a single gunshot while he was speaking to a crowd of more than 3,000 people at an event at Utah Valley University (UVU) on Wednesday, had remained at large until Friday. Authorities have not speculated about any motive behind the shooting.

Police and federal investigators asked the public to help identify the suspect. Video footage and images of the man were circulated on Thursday .

Utah Governor Spencer Cox said investigators had completed more than 200 interviews and asked the public to keep sending photos and videos to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). He added that investigators had received about 7,000 tips from the general public.

“We need as much help as we can possibly get,” he told a news conference on Thursday night, alongside FBI director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino. “We cannot do our job without the public’s help right now.”

Authorities also said they found a palm print on the rooftop, a shoe impression and a hunting rifle in nearby woods where it is believed that the attacker fled.

What details have been released about the suspect?

Utah’s Department of Public Safety released several photographs of a white man wearing Converse trainers, jeans, a long-sleeved black T-shirt with a US flag and eagle on it, and a black baseball cap with a triangle.

Surveillance footage released at the news conference showed the man fleeing across a university rooftop about 120 metres (400ft) from where Kirk was speaking, before dropping down to the ground and running along the edge of the campus car park, across the road and into nearby woods, leaving behind palm and shoe prints which were being analysed on Thursday.

What do we know about the weapon used to kill Kirk?

Investigators said they had recovered a bolt-action rifle in the nearby woodland, which they believe to have been used in the shooting.

FBI special agent Robert Bohls described the weapon as “a high-powered, bolt-action rifle”. According to US media outlets citing sources, it is an imported Mauser.30-06 bolt-action rifle.

Unlike semi-automatic guns, bolt-action rifles have a slower rate of fire but are valued for their precision. Bohls said the weapon is currently undergoing analysis at an FBI laboratory for possible evidence.

The rifle and three unfired rounds of ammunition inside it were reported to be engraved with expressions of transgender and antifascist ideology, the Wall Street Journal said on Thursday, quoting a person familiar with the investigation and an internal law enforcement bulletin.

What else did investigators do to find the shooter?

On Thursday, the FBI announced a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person, or people, responsible for the fatal shooting of Kirk.

Utah’s governor, Spencer Cox, who has pledged to pursue the death penalty when the attacker is tried, said the FBI had received 7,000 tips and leads.