The search for the suspect in the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk continued unabated Thursday. The FBI announced at a press conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, that the man who shot Kirk from a distance, striking him in the neck and killing him immediately, according to preliminary findings of the investigation, did so with a"high-capacity rifle" that was found "in the woods near" the crime scene.

A close ally and personal friend of US President Donald Trump, Kirk was at noon local time Wednesday at the start of a public event, protected only by a tent, debating with hundreds of attendees at one of the events he regularly organized on campuses across the country. He died at Utah Valley University in Orem, near Salt Lake City. He was 31.

At the press conference, an FBI spokesperson said they have images, which they do not plan to make public at this time, that clearly show the individual, who was wearing jeans and a T-shirt and had his face covered."He appears to be college-aged," the spokesperson added. They have not ruled out the possibility that he was a student at Utah Valley.

He also stated that they were combing the university area,"knocking on doors in several neighborhoods" to find him. So far, 19 hours after the tragic event, that operation has yielded no results."If our search continues without results, then we will provide these images to the media for their release."

Next, Robert Bohls, who introduced himself as the on-site agent in charge of the investigation, spoke about the weapon used. He also said they had 130 leads provided by the"community," whose cooperation he thanked. Furthermore, Bohls added, they have the suspect's fingerprints. Not only that: the FBI confirmed they had mapped the suspect's movements from the moment he walked toward the building from whose roof he fired the shot, until, after committing his crime, he fled the scene.

Kirk, who was evacuated by his security team to a nearby hospital, died within minutes. The murder was captured on dozens of cell phones, and the gruesome images spread like wildfire across the internet, but none of those lenses were focused at the moment on the location where the killer was positioned; according to initial investigations, a rooftop about 60 meters away, from where he could have easily aimed at his target. Some videos posted online of the moments immediately following the shooting do show the person who appears to be the perpetrator running at full speed across the rooftop from which he apparently fired the shot.

Kirk, a fierce defender of the Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to bear arms, was in the middle of a discussion about the recurrence of mass murders in the United States when the bullet struck his neck, causing blood to spurt.

Confusion in the first hours

The university quickly announced that a suspect had been arrested. Soon, police contradicted academic authorities: someone had been arrested, but for “obstruction of justice.” He had also been quickly released. The confusion continued when, hours later, Kash Patel announced on X that they had found the man they were looking for. “The subject of the horrific shooting that took the life of Charlie Kirk today is now in custody. Thank you to the local and state authorities in Utah for their cooperation with the FBI,” wrote Patel, who was appointed by Trump to a position for which he had no prior experience. The embarrassment came soon after, with the announcement that the second suspect was also not Kirk’s killer.

The suspect, once found, faces the death penalty in the state of Utah, Republican Governor Spencer Cox stated in an emotional press conference on Wednesday, just hours after the murder. Cox also ruled out the involvement of others.

If he were tried for a terrorism offense, then he would fall under the federal criminal justice system, and the Department of Justice could also pursue a capital sentence. Given Trump's close relationship with Kirk and the anger with which the US president received the news, no one doubts that, if necessary, he will ask Attorney General Pam Bondi to bring the full force of the law down on the young MAGA leader's killer.