The manhunt continues for the individual responsible for assassinating conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
Authorities have released information about the suspect, describing him as a college-aged male with a high level of proficiency in handling firearms and a likely familiarity with the university campus.
He was observed wearing a long-sleeve black shirt featuring an American flag, dark sunglasses, a baseball cap, and Converse sneakers. A video later made available shows him limping through a neighbourhood, while apparently concealing a rifle in his jeans, towards the campus before the shooting.
Surveillance footage shows the suspect fleeing across a rooftop before jumping down an estimated 10ft to the ground, leaving behind palm and footwear imprints on the building. He is said to have then made his way into a residential neighbourhood.
Authorities have suggested that his escape method suggests that he is athletic and physically fit.
Investigators later found a high-powered, bolt-action Mauser .30-06 calibre rifle in a nearby wooded area. It is now being analysed at an FBI laboratory in Virginia for clues such as fingerprints and DNA that could help in his arrest.
The rifle contained several rounds of ammunition, some of which were reportedly engraved with messages promoting transgender ideologies. However, on Thursday, a senior official said that initial reports about the ammunition ‘might turn out to have been misread or misinterpreted’.
A former FBI agent has now suggested that the killer is likely an experienced hunter acting alone, while another believes that he knew the layout of the university and meticulously planned the assassination to the last detail, including where to dump the weapon.
Explaining that the precision of the shot indicated a high level of skill, Dennis Franks said: ‘It required a lot of confidence to be able to take the shot, to execute and hit where it did.’
Authorities have released new information about the suspect, describing him as a college-aged male with a high level of proficiency in handling firearms
The manhunt continues for the individual responsible for the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk
The suspect jumped from the roof of a building after he fired the fatal shot
The person of interest seen walking away from the campus after the attack
Speaking to the BBC, he noted that the distance of the shooting would not be challenging for an experienced shooter.
While acknowledging that ‘anyone could go down to a rifle range and train with a scope,’ Franks emphasised that the combination of the area and the ‘confidence’ of the gunman suggested that the person who shot Charlie Kirk could be a hunter.
He also stated: ‘I tend to think from a behavioural standpoint that he acted alone.’
Retired FBI agent Brad Garrett told ABC News that every detail of the attack was carefully planned, including how the possible murder weapon was discarded by the suspect along his escape route.
He said: ‘He probably did that [because] he didn’t want to be seen carrying a weapon, running through a neighbourhood, or walking through a neighbourhood.’
Investigators have received over 7,000 tips from the public so far. Earlier, three police sources informed CBS News that they believed they had identified a person of interest, but that lead was later deemed unsuccessful.
Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, said at a news conference: ‘We are investing everything we have into this and we will catch this individual.’
Mason also said detectives were looking at ‘good video footage’ of the suspect that they have used to trace his movements before and after the shooting.
A former FBI agent has now suggested that the killer is likely an experienced hunter acting alone
The event, part of Kirk’s organisation’s ‘American Comeback Tour,’ attracted around 3,000 attendees.
Kirk was shot around 20 minutes after he started speaking, sending the crowd into a state of panic
But in a new update, Mason admitted investigators ‘have no idea’ about the identity or location of the shooter. He told NBC News: ‘We’re exploring leads for individuals that live close by. We literally have persons of interest, tips coming in on the tip line that are spanning far and wide.’
The suspect is said to have arrived at the campus at 11:52am local time, 28 minutes before Kirk was shot. Mason earlier said: ‘We have tracked his movements onto the campus, through stairwells, up to the roof, across the roof to the shooting location.
‘After the shooting, we were able to track his movements as he moved to the other side of the building, jumped off of the building, and fled off of the campus into a neighbourhood.’
Charlie Kirk, 31, was fatally shot while speaking at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University on September 10, 2025.
The shooter fired a single shot from a rooftop approximately 200 yards away, hitting Kirk in the neck.
A $100,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the identification of the shooter.
Two individuals were initially detained following the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, but were later released without charges.
One of the men, George Zinn, a 71-year-old local political agitator, was arrested on campus grounds that day.
Authorities clarified that the arrest was for potential obstruction of justice and that Zinn had already been released.
The tent was cordoned off as detectives attempted to piece together how Kirk was shot
The FBI and forensic teams have been scouring the area for clues that will lead to the suspect
Armed officials were deployed in the aftermath of the shooting
Kirk was participating in a ‘Prove Me Wrong’ debate at Utah Valley University when he was fatally shot. The event, part of his organisation’s ‘American Comeback Tour,’ attracted around 3,000 attendees.
It was the first stop of a 15-date university tour.
After he was shot, he was transported to Timpanogos Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
President Donald Trump has also condemned the shooting, ordering flags to be lowered to half-staff and announcing that Kirk will be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
