OREM, Utah (AP) 鈥 The shooter who assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk and then vanished off a roof and into the woods remained at large more than 24 hours later Thursday as federal investigators appealed for the public’s help by releasing photos of the person they believe is responsible.
Investigators obtained clues, including a palm print, a shoe impression and a high-powered hunting rifle found in a wooded area along the path the shooter fled. But they had yet to name a suspect or cite a motive in the killing they were treating as the latest act of political violence to convulse the United States across the ideological spectrum.
The photos of a person in a hat, sunglasses and a long-sleeve black shirt, with a backpack, as well as a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest suggested that law enforcement thought tips from the public might be needed to crack the case. Two people who were taken into custody shortly after Wednesday’s shooting at Utah Valley University were later released, forcing officials to chase new leads on a separate person of interest they pursued Thursday.
During a news conference Thursday with FBI Director Kash Patel, authorities showed a video of a person being sought in connection with the killing racing across the roof of the building where the shot was fired, dropping down to the ground and fleeing into the woods. In the process, officials say, the shooter left behind imprints, including a palm print, that investigators hope can yield clues to their identity.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox pleaded for the public’s help in the search for the shooter.
鈥淲e have people all over the country trying to bring this perpetrator to justice,” he said, adding that the FBI had received more than 7,000 leads and tips.
He said they鈥檙e getting everything in order to pursue the death penalty.
The direct appeals for public support at the nighttime news conference, including new and enhanced photos, appeared to signal law enforcement鈥檚 continued struggles a day and a half into the search to identify the shooter and pinpoint the person鈥檚 whereabouts.
Authorities didn鈥檛 take questions, and Patel did not speak at the news conference.
One clue in the investigation was a Mauser .30-caliber, bolt-action rifle found in a towel in the woods. A spent cartridge was recovered from the chamber, and three other rounds were loaded in the magazine, according to information circulated among law enforcement and described to The Associated Press. The weapon and ammunition were being analyzed by law enforcement at a federal lab.
Grisly video shared online
The attack, carried out in a broad daylight as Kirk spoke about social issues from a university courtyard, was captured on .
The videos show Kirk, a close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, speaking into a handheld microphone when suddenly a shot rings out. Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as blood gushes from the left side of his neck. Stunned spectators gasp and scream before people start running away.
The shooter, who investigators believe blended into the campus crowd because of a 鈥渃ollege-age鈥 appearance, fired a single shot from the rooftop where they were perched before jumping off.
鈥淚 can tell you this was a targeted event,鈥 said Robert Bohls, the top FBI agent in Salt Lake City.
Trump, who was joined by Democrats in condemning , said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., while Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, arrived Thursday afternoon in Salt Lake City to visit with Kirk鈥檚 family. Vance posted a remembrance on X chronicling their friendship, dating back to initial messages in 2017, through Vance鈥檚 Senate run and the 2024 election.
鈥淪o much of the success we鈥檝e had in this administration traces directly to Charlie鈥檚 ability to organize and convene,鈥 Vance wrote. 鈥淗e didn鈥檛 just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.鈥
Kirk鈥檚 casket was flown aboard Air Force Two from Utah to Phoenix, where his nonprofit political youth organization, Turning Point USA, is based. Trump told reporters he plans to attend Kirk’s funeral. Details have not been announced.
Kirk was taking questions about gun violence
who became a powerful political force among young Republicans and was a fixture on college campuses, where he invited sometimes-vehement debate on social issues.
He was shot while attending one such event Wednesday, a debate hosted by Turning Point at the Sorensen Center on campus in what was billed as the first stop on Kirk’s 鈥淎merican Comeback Tour.鈥
The event generated a polarizing campus reaction. An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1,000 signatures. The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its 鈥渃ommitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry and constructive dialogue.鈥
Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit was sparking controversy. He wrote, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 going on in Utah?鈥
One such provocative exchange played out immediately before the shooting, as he was taking questions from an audience member about when the shot was heard.
Attendees barricaded themselves in classrooms
Some attendees who bolted after the gunshot rushed into two classrooms full of students. They used tables to barricade the door and to shield themselves in the corners. Someone grabbed an electric pencil sharpener and wrapped the cord tightly around the door handle, then tied the sharpener to a chair leg.
Madison Lattin was watching a few dozen feet from Kirk鈥檚 left when she heard the bullet hit him.
鈥淏lood is falling and dripping down, and you’re just like so scared, not just for him but your own safety,” she said.
On campus Thursday, the canopy stamped with the slogan Kirk commonly used at his events 鈥淧ROVE ME WRONG鈥 stood, disheveled.
Kathleen Murphy, a longtime resident who lives near the campus, said she has been staying inside with her door locked.
鈥淲ith the shooter not being caught yet, it was a worry,鈥 Murphy said.
Meanwhile, the shooting continued to draw as Democratic officials joined Trump and other Republican allies of Kirk in decrying the attack, which unfolded during a spike of political violence that has touched a range of ideologies and representatives of both major political parties.
鈥淭he murder of Charlie Kirk breaks my heart. My deepest sympathies are with his wife, two young children, and friends,鈥 said Gabrielle Giffords, the former Democratic congresswoman who was in her Arizona district.
Tucker and Richer reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Nicholas Riccardi in Denver; Michael Biesecker, Brian Slodysko, Lindsay Whitehurst and Michelle L. Price in Washington; Ty O’Neil in Orem, Utah; Hallie Golden in Seattle; and Meg Kinnard in Chapin, South Carolina, contributed to this report.
