Ammunition in shooting engraved with Trantifa ideology
The person who fatally shot conservative commentator Charlie Kirk in a targeted attack at a Utah university is believed to be college-aged, with authorities saying they have video footage of the suspect.
Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, said at a press conference Thursday morning that investigators have made “a few breakthroughs” in the case.
This included being able “to track the movements of the shooter” from when he arrived on campus at Utah Valley University to when he escaped after shooting Kirk from a distance.
“We do have good video footage of this individual, we are not going to release that at this time,” said Mason, explaining that if authorities “are unsuccessful” in identifying the suspect through the footage they have, then “we will reach out” to the media and the public “to help.”
Mason also noted that he had contacted Kirk’s widow, Erika, saying that “the family is devastated” and that, as a husband and father, “I can only imagine what that family is going through.”
“The heinous event that happened yesterday is not Utah. This is not what we’re known for,” he maintained. “We will not stand for what happened yesterday.”
Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent Robert Bohls also shared updates, noting that authorities had recovered the weapon believed to have been used to murder Kirk, describing it as a “high-powered bolt-action rifle.”
The rifle had been recovered in a wooded area where the shooter had fled to, Bohls explained, with investigators also finding a shoe print, palm print and forearm imprints.
Bohls said that authorities had received around 130 tips, and that they were investigating all possible leads. He vowed to “relentlessly” pursue the shooter.
When asked for a physical description of the suspect, Mason explained that he “blended in well with the college institution” and “appears to be of college age.” Additional details about his appearance are being kept confidential for the time being.
While a motive was not stated by authorities at the press conference, reports have surfaced indicating that ammunition in the shooting was engraved with radical leftwing messaging, including transgender ideology. This information was first reported by Steven Crowder, who received a leaked FBI memo, and subsequently confirmed by The Wall Street Journal.
The co-founder and leader of Turning Point USA, a conservative youth activist group, Kirk was speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem when an unknown gunman shot him in the neck.
UVU was put on lockdown while the 31-year-old Kirk was rushed to a local hospital, dying of his wound shortly after. While a suspect was taken into custody, he was released and charged with obstructing justice.
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 wrote. “Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act. Our prayers are with Charlie, his family, and all those affected.”
