Authorities have released new video of the Charlie Kirk shooting suspect, jumping off the roof of a building on the university where the conservative activist was fatally shot yesterday.
The attack was carried out in broad daylight as Kirk spoke about social issues from a Utah Valley University courtyard.
During a news conference on Friday, authorities showed a video of the suspected shooter 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.
“We cannot do our job without the public’s help,” said Governor Spencer Cox, adding that the FBI had received more than 7000 leads and tips. He said the FBI had not received as many digital tips since the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing investigation.
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 analysed by law enforcement at a federal lab.
The shooter, who investigators believe blended into the campus crowd because of a “college-age” appearance, fired a single shot from the rooftop where they were perched before jumping off.
“I can tell you this was a targeted event,” said Robert Bohls, the top FBI agent in Salt Lake City.
President Donald Trump, who was joined by Democrats in condemning the violence, said he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the US, while Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, arrived Friday in Salt Lake City to visit with Kirk’s family.
Vance posted a remembrance on X chronicling their friendship, dating back to initial messages in 2017, through Vance’s Senate run and the 2024 election.
Kirk’s casket was flown aboard Air Force Two from Utah to Phoenix, where his nonprofit political youth organisation, Turning Point USA, is based. Trump told reporters he plans to attend Kirk's funeral. Details have not been announced.
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