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 initial investigation findings, used a “high-capacity rifle” that had been found “in the woods near” the scene of the crime. A few hours later, the FBI posted two photos of the suspect on its X account.
In them, you can see a man wearing a black cap and sunglasses. He's wearing jeans and a black T-shirt with a print that appears to include an American flag.
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.
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.
— FBI Salt Lake City (@FBISaltLakeCity) September 11, 2025
1-800-CALL-FBI
Digital media tips: https://t.co/K7maX81TjJ pic.twitter.com/ALuVkTXuDc
At the press conference, an FBI spokesperson said they have images and did not plan to make them public at this time. In them, he stated, an individual is"clearly" visible, who"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's surroundings,"knocking on doors in several neighborhoods" to find him. So far, almost 24 hours after the tragic event, that operation has yielded no results."If our search still yields no results, then we will make these images available to the media for release," he announced. They finally did so around noon (Washington time), and television stations began broadcasting them on repeat, hoping someone would provide information about the fugitive's whereabouts.
Later, Robert Bohls, who introduced himself as the on-site officer in charge of the investigation, spoke about the weapon used, an older model.30-caliber hunting rifle. He was found lying in the woods, wrapped in a towel, with a spent cartridge and another still in the chamber, according to anonymous sources cited by The Wall Street Journal. The New York newspaper also reported that investigators had found “ammunition engraved with expressions of transgender and anti-fascist ideology.” At the time of his death, Kirk had just answered a question from an unidentified student about mass shootings perpetrated by transgender people.
Authorities said they had 130 leads provided by the community, whose cooperation he thanked. In addition, Bohls added, they have the suspect's fingerprints. The FBI also confirmed that they had mapped the suspect's movements from the moment he walked toward the building from whose roof he fired the shot, until he fled the scene after committing his crime.
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 100 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.
