At the moment, the authorship of the shot to the neck of the Trump influencer, who ended his life in front of 3,000 people, in broad daylight, is unknown.
From the Capitol assault to Kirk: Political violence is the new normal in the US
Flags on government buildings across the United States were lowered to half-staff Thursday in honor of the death of young Charlie Kirk. The 31-year-old was fatally shot in the neck Wednesday afternoon while giving a talk at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. A close collaborator of the White House during the Trump era, the MAGA movement is mourning the loss of its main point of connection with American youth.
How did he die?
Turning Point USA, the organization founded by Kirk at 18, had organized the first stop on Wednesday of"The Comeback Tour," a series of lectures at American universities, with the first stop being Utah. Surrounded by some 3,000 attendees, the talk had begun at 12:00 p.m. local time in a format called"Prove Me Wrong." At 12:10 p.m., while answering a question about shootings from his speaker's podium, he was shot in the neck. According to ABC's Washington correspondent, David Alandete, the University Police admitted lapses in security at the event, which was managed by Kirk's private security detail plus six officers.
The young influencer was taken to the hospital after the crash. There, his death was confirmed.
Who killed Charlie Kirk?
In an initial version of events, police arrested a suspect on campus, who was later released. Before Charlie Kirk's death was confirmed, FBI agents arrested another man in his 60s on the Utah Valley University campus. He was also released and ruled out after no evidence of his involvement in the homicide was found.
The most recent reports point to a dark-clothed, college-aged man as the perpetrator, who allegedly fired from the rooftop of one of the campus buildings, about 180 meters from the stage, Alandete reports. He fired only one shot, which hit the deceased directly in the neck.
We have in our possession what we believe to be the weapon—a high-capacity rifle—used in the shooting, the FBI stated in a press conference this Thursday. In their statement, they added that they are analyzing it, as well as the fingerprints—fingerprints and other types—found at the scene.
This man managed to escape the scene, likely thanks to the crowd gathered at the university, and remains at large, according to the information known so far. Police have stated that they also have images of the suspect, including a video that they will not distribute, and that they have tracked his actions. They have indicated that he arrived on campus at 11:52 a.m. local time, and then climbed onto the rooftop and jumped.
We have dedicated all of our resources to this investigation, including tactical, operational, investigative, and intelligence resources. To be clear, the FBI will fully support and co-lead this investigation with our partners, explains Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls, via the FBI's x.com account. He also asks the public for any information that may lead to the capture of the culprit.
Why was Trump's influencer killed?
At 4:40 p.m. local time, President Donald Trump himself announced Kirk's death. According to his version, the radical left is to blame: 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 has assured that he will track down each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and other acts of political violence, including the organizations that finance and support it. However, the question remains:
