FBI recovers rifle believed to be used to kill Charlie Kirk
Investigators have recovered a rifle believed to have been used in the fatal shooting of conservative political commentator Charlie Kirk, the FBI announced Thursday.
Robert Bohls, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Salt Lake City field office, said the “high-powered bolt-action rifle” was discovered in a wooded area along the suspected gunman’s escape route. The weapon has been sent to the FBI laboratory at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia for further analysis, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Authorities also collected a footwear impression, a palm print, and forearm imprints from the area, Bohls said.
Details about the suspected shooter remain limited, but officials believe the individual appears to be of college age. Surveillance footage has captured the suspect’s movements beginning about 30 minutes before the shooting. Investigators said the gunman arrived near Utah Valley University around 11:52 a.m., made his way onto the roof, and took up a “shooting location.”
After firing on the crowd, the suspect reportedly moved across the building, jumped down, and fled into a nearby neighborhood. Authorities are now reviewing home surveillance camera footage in the area.
“We do have good video footage of this individual,” said Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason. “We’re working through technologies to identify him. If we’re unsuccessful, we will push that publicly to help identify the suspect. We are investing everything we have into this, and we will catch this individual.”
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, two people of interest were taken into custody but later released after being cleared. Mason urged the public not to harass them, saying both individuals have faced threats since their release. “They were not suspects. They don’t deserve that harassment,” he said.
Kirk, 30, was fatally shot on Wednesday afternoon while speaking to thousands of students at Utah Valley University’s outdoor quad in Orem, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City. Security at the event included six university police officers and members of Kirk’s private security team.
Videos posted online showed the moment Kirk was struck by a bullet as he spoke under a canopy, sparking chaos as students fled in panic. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead hours later.
The Utah Department of Public Safety and the FBI are leading the investigation, with support from the Utah County Attorney’s Office, the Utah County Sheriff’s Office, and local police departments.
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