BURSTThe FBI said Thursday that authorities have recovered a rifle they believe was used to shoot and kill conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah on Wednesday.
The manhunt for the assassin, who fled Utah Valley University after shooting Kirk, is still ongoing. Law enforcement has footage of the shooter, who they believe is of college age, but have not released it to the public.
Here is what we know about Kirk’s shooting:
What officials know about the suspect
The FBI’s Salt Lake City office released the photos of a person of interest on Thursday and is asking the public for tips to track down the individual.
The person appears to be wearing a black, long-sleeve shirt and blue jeans. He also was wearing a hat and black sunglasses.
Law enforcement officials said Thursday morning they believe the shooter was of college age, citing “good” footage of the suspect and images of the suspect's face.
Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS) Commissioner Beau Mason “blended well” with the school.
“We are confident in our abilities to track that individual. If we're unsuccessful in identifying them immediately, we will reach out for the public's help and the media's help in pushing those photos,” Mason said during a Thursday morning press conference.
The type of weapon used
Law enforcement said they have recovered a “high-powered bolt-action” rifle, believed to be the weapon used to kill Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, while speaking in Orem, Utah.
The rifle was recovered in the “wooded” area where the shooter had fled, Robert Bohls, the FBI special agent in charge of the FBI’s Salt Lake City office, told reporters Thursday morning.
The FBI laboratory is analyzing this weapon.
Authorities discovered ammunition engraved with expressions of antifascist and transgender ideology inside the rifle believed to be used by the shooter, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday morning, citing an internal law enforcement bulletin and another unnamed official.
In the woods near the college, investigators found a .30 caliber hunting rifle wrapped in a towel with a spent cartridge in the chamber, The Journal reported. There were unused rounds in the magazine.
Investigators also collected a "footwear impression, a palm print and forearm imprints for analysis,” Bohls said.
Where the shooter was located
The investigators said they were able to track the movements of the shooter prior to and after the assassination of Kirk.
Authorities believe the shooter arrived on campus at 11:52 a.m. local time, moving through the stairwells and onto the roof of a building — from which the suspect shot Kirk — near where the event was unfolding, Mason said.
“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 and into a neighborhood,” Mason said at the press conference.
Investigators then contacted the residents of the neighborhood with doorbell cameras and witnesses to identify any leads.
“We've walked through those woods and secured it. As to the community, I can tell you that this was a targeted event. We don't believe that the community is at risk,” Bohls said. “However, we are exhausting every resource to find him, and we will, we will do so.”
Authorities detain, then clear two prior suspects
During the investigation on Wednesday, authorities detained two individuals suspected of being involved with the shooting, but they were later released.
The first one was George Zinn, who was freed but charged with obstruction by campus police. Zachariah Qureshi, the second person of interest, was detained but later released after interrogation.
“We interviewed those individuals, and after releasing them and after clearing them of being suspects. They face scrutiny. They face threats. We asked the public to be patient with the investigative process,” Mason.
“These individuals were not suspects. They were people of interest. We ask that you do not impose into those people and that investigative process. They don’t deserve that harassment for being subject to that,” the Utah DPS commissioner added.
Feds, state officials not involved in event security
Utah Valley University had six officers working the event on Wednesday, according to Utah DPS. This is in addition to Kirk’s security detail, which traveled with him around the country.
About 3,000 people attended the event held in the university quad, an outdoor courtyard.
Mason, the safety commissioner, said Thursday morning that neither the Utah DPS nor the FBI were involved in the planning or the security of the venue.