Popular right-wing influencer and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at a Utah Valley University event on September 10. In front of an audience of thousands, the 31-year-old was shot in the neck and immediately rushed to the hospital, declared dead soon after. Political circles have shared their reactions to the harrowing incident online, with President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Kamala Harris, Barack Obama, Bernie Sanders, and more sharing public tributes to the late Kirk and condemning the killing.
The dad-of-two was addressing an audience at Otem, Utah, part of a campaign tour organized by Turning Point USA under "American Comeback," and was answering a question on gun violence and the trans rights before he was suddenly shot, throwing the audience into a panic. Approximately 3000 people were in attendance, including six police officers and Kirk's own security personnel.
© Getty ImagesAs the manhunt for the shooter remains ongoing, here's all we know about the information released about the person of interest, the arrests that were made immediately after the incident, and other reactions that have come in since his death…
What do we know of the shooter?
In their statement, the Utah Department of Public Safety shared: "The shooting is believed to be a targeted attack. The shooter is believed to have fired from the roof of a building down to the location of the public event in the student courtyard. Any additional clarifications cannot be provided to protect the integrity of our investigation."
© Getty ImagesAt a news conference on Thursday, FBI officials, who are handling the case, declined to comment on whether they were aware of the identity of the shooter. However, they stated they'd recovered a weapon they heavily believe to be the one used to shoot Kirk. Special agent Robert Bohls, when asked about any fingerprints or DNA evidence collected in connection with the case, he responded: "We are exhausting all of our resources to be able to collect those, but that's, again, part of the investigation." The FBI released images of who they believe to be a person of interest in the case as well.
Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason confirmed they'd made several "breakthroughs" in their investigation and had received several tips as well. At the news conference, he shared that the shooter appeared to be "of college age" and blended in with the other students in attendance at the event. They also suspect the shooter to be male.
© Getty ImagesCharlie Kirk's family response
While there has been no direct statement from Kirk's family, including widow Erika Lane Frantzve, Beau Mason added during the conference that he'd been in communication with his family, who are "devastated" by the event. "As commissioner of public safety, as a father, as a husband, 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 continued. "We will not stand for what happened yesterday. We are exhausting every lead, we have every officer invested in this, every investigator, every local agency." Kirk shared two kids with his wife, a three-year-old daughter and a one-year-old son.
© Getty ImagesPrevious arrests
Per the Utah DPS' statement, it was confirmed that two previous suspects were taken into custody for questioning in connection with the investigation, but were soon released when it was revealed they had no "current ties" to the shooter or the incident itself. "We initially took in George Zinn as a suspect. He was later released and charged with obstruction by UVU police."
"A second suspect, Zachariah Qureshi, was taken into custody and released after interrogation with law enforcement," the statement added. There are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals. There is an ongoing investigation and manhunt for the shooter." Commissioner Mason stated during the press conference that they were appealing to the public not to "harass" the previous persons of interest.
© Instagram"During the investigative process, we located a couple of persons of interest. We interviewed those individuals, and after releasing them and after clearing them with being suspects, they faced scrutiny, they faced threats," he shared. "These individuals were not suspects. They were people of interest. They don't deserve that harassment."
