The Federal Bureau of Investigation has released images of a person of interest in the murder of Charlie Kirk and is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of the killer.
FBI Salt Lake City issued a brief statement on Thursday explaining that the Bureau was “offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the individual(s) responsible for the murder of Charlie Kirk.”
The FBI went on to encourage anyone with information about the shooting to call 1-800-CALL-FBI and, if they have any photos or video, to submit them to the website fbi.gov/utahvalleyshooting.
Additionally, FBI Salt Lake City released a couple of images on Thursday showing what they describe as a person of interest in the shooting. The images show an individual wearing sunglasses, a cap, and a black, long-sleeved shirt.
“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,” tweeted the FBI office.
An influential conservative activist and media personality, Kirk was speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday when an unknown gunman fatally shot him in the neck.
UVU was put on lockdown while the 31-year-old Kirk was rushed to a local hospital, with the husband and father of two dying from his wound shortly after the targeted shooting.
At a press conference held Thursday morning, FBI Special Agent Robert Bohls said that authorities had recovered a “high-powered bolt-action rifle” believed to be the murder weapon.
According to Bohls, authorities found shoe prints, a palm print and forearm imprints in a wooded area near campus that the shooter had fled to after killing Kirk.
Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, told those gathered at the press conference that the suspect was “college-age” and that they had video images of him.
“We do have good video footage of this individual, we are not going to release that at this time,” Mason said earlier in the day, adding that if authorities “are unsuccessful” in identifying the suspect, then “we will reach out” to the media and the public “to help.”
For his part, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox took to his official X account yesterday to state that whoever is responsible for the assassination “will be held fully accountable.”
“Violence has no place in our public life,” Cox tweeted. “Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act. Our prayers are with Charlie, his family, and all those affected.”
