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High-powered rifle recovered by officials, who say they also possess 'good video' of suspect
Federal authorities in the United States continued to search on Thursday for a person of interest in the shooting death of Charlie Kirk, the right-wing activist and close ally to the president.
The FBI released photos of a person of interest in the death of Kirk, 31, asking the public to contact investigators with any tips on Thursday as the manhunt stretched into its second day. The bureau also offered an award of up to $100,000 US for information that leads to the identification or arrest of the person who shot Kirk.
Who is Kirk?
A combination photo shows a person of interest in the fatal shooting of U.S. right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, in security footage released by the Utah Department of Public Safety on Thursday. (Utah Department of Public Safety/Handout via Reuters)
Charles James Kirk (October 14, 1993 – September 10, 2025) was an American conservative[a] political activist, author, and media personality. He co-founded the conservative organization Turning Point USA (TPUSA) in 2012 and was its executive director. He was the chief executive officer of Turning Point Action (TPAction) and a member of the Council for National Policy (CNP). In his later years, he was one of the most prominent voices of the populist MAGA movement and exemplified the growth of Christian nationalism in the Republican Party.
Shooter may have accessed roof！
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honour in the U.S., a day after calling him a "martyr for truth and freedom." He later said he was "hopeful" investigators were making progress in their search for the person he described as a "sniper."
Kirk identified as a Christian conservative and was an unabashed supporter of expansive gun-owning rights. He often made statements that his critics said were racist, homophobic or transphobic.
Utah Valley is also just a few kilometres away from Brigham Young University, which is owned by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, known widely as the Mormon church.
Utah is one of 14 states that allow some level of concealed carry of firearms on public college and university campuses, and the first to do so.
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.
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