Live updates: Shooter still at large after conservative activist Charlie Kirk assassinated at Utah university
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Charlie Kirk shooting witness says there was little security at Utah college event
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Authorities searched on Thursday for the shooter who with one gunshot from a distant rooftop killed conservative activist and Trump ally Charlie Kirk as he spoke at a Utah college event.
Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of President Donald Trump who played an influential role in rallying young Republican voters, was shot and killed at a Utah college event in what the governor called a political assassination.
Authorities say Kirk was killed with a single shot from a rooftop on Wednesday. Whoever fired the gun then slipped away amid the chaos of screams and students fleeing the Utah Valley University campus.
The circumstances of the shooting drew renewed attention to an escalating threat of political violence in the United States that, in the last several years, has cut across the ideological spectrum. The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation, but a national reckoning over ways to prevent political grievances from manifesting as deadly violence seemed elusive.
Here’s what we know so far:
- Searching for the shooter: Authorities in Utah are working to identify the shooter, who jumped off a roof and fled after firing the fatal shot. A high-powered, bolt-action rifle was recovered from area where the suspected Kirk shooter fled, the FBI said. Kirk’s killer “appears to be of college age” and “blended in” with the college population on the Utah campus where Kirk had drawn a crowd of thousands, an official said.
- Kirk’s Legacy: The 31-year-old activist personified the pugnacious, populist conservatism that has taken over the Republican Party in the age of Trump. An unabashed Christian conservative who often made provocative statements about gender, race and politics, Kirk launched his organization, Turning Point USA, in 2012, targeting younger people and venturing onto liberal-leaning college campuses where many GOP activists were nervous to tread.
- Trump declares Kirk a ‘martyr': In a video message from the Oval Office late Wednesday, Trump called Kirk “a martyr for truth and freedom” and condemned the “demonizing” of political opponents in the U.S., even as he claimed the rhetoric of the “radical left” was “directly responsible” for the assassination of Kirk. The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation.
Speaker Johnson says congressional security is being reviewed
House Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday that security is “a big concern” for members of Congress and is under “a very thorough review.”
But Johnson told reporters at the U.S. Capitol that he had seen security estimates into the billions of dollars for all 435 House members, which he said is “not a possibility.”
He did mention a pilot program through which members can be reimbursed for hiring private security when they’re on the road or in their districts.
“Somebody who’s arguing the other side of an issue is not your enemy, they’re your fellow American,” Johnson said, in a call for civility. “We’re all made in God’s image and so we need to see one another that way and not as enemies.”
FBI calls Kirk shooting ‘targeted event’
The person who fatally shot Kirk is believed to have targeted him at an event on a Utah college campus, said Robert Bohls, the FBI Special Agent in Charge at the Salt Lake City field office.
The shooter is still on the run, and it isn’t clear how far the suspect may have gotten, but the nearby woods have been secured, authorities said.
Authorities say Kirk suspect ‘appears to be of college age’
Law enforcement officials said the suspect they are seeking “appears to be of college age” and “blended in” with students on the college campus.
Officials asked the public to share any video and images they may have to help identify the person. Authorities said they have video footage of the suspected shooter but did not confirm that includes images of the person’s face.
JUST IN: Killer of Charlie Kirk ‘appears to be of college age,’ police say, and ‘blended in’ with college population
By The Associated Press
A murder weapon has been recovered, authorities say
Authorities found what they believe was the murder weapon, a high powered bolt-action rifle, in a wooded area where the shooter fled, said FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls.
JUST IN: High-powered, bolt-action rifle recovered from area where suspected Kirk shooter fled, FBI says
By The Associated Press
JUST IN: Official says police are working to identify Charlie Kirk’s shooter, who jumped off roof and fled after firing shot
By The Associated Press
Authorities say suspected Kirk shooter arrived on campus just before noon
Mason said authorities tracked the suspected shooter’s movements after he jumped from a building, moved through stairwells and ultimately fled from campus into a neighborhood.
“We do have good video of this individual,” Mason said.
Law enforcement tapes off an area after Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was shot at the Utah Valley University, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. (Tess Croewley/The Deseret News via AP)
Law enforcement tapes off an area after Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was shot at the Utah Valley University, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Orem, Utah. (Tess Croewley/The Deseret News via AP)
Update on Kirk investigation is underway
Law enforcement officials have begun their news conference at Utah Valley University.
Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason says officials will work Thursday to release Kirk’s body from the medical examiner to his family.
Authorities plan news conference on Kirk shooting updates
Law enforcement officials in Utah are holding a news conference Thursday morning to share updates in their investigation.
The Utah Department of Public Safety says its commissioner, as well as the FBI special agent in charge, will speak to reporters at 9 a.m. ET on the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem.
The news conference will be streamed on the department’s Instagram page.
WATCH: Trump blames ‘radical left’ rhetoric for Charlie Kirk’s assassination
In a video message from the Oval Office late Wednesday, President Donald Trump called Kirk “a martyr for truth and freedom” and condemned the “demonizing” of political opponents in the U.S.
Vance is expected to visit Salt Lake City to meet with Kirk’s family
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, are set to visit with Kirk’s family on Thursday in Salt Lake City.
According to a person familiar with Vance’s plans, but not authorized to speak about them publicly, the Vances will visit Utah instead of New York, which had been their planned destination for an outdoor ceremony to commemorate Sept. 11.