Charlie Kirk’s assassin was of “college-age” and blended in with students before making his way to the roof and then “jumping off the building,” authorities said Thursday as they revealed they have a video of the sniper but are not yet releasing it.
The sniper arrived on campus at 11:52 a.m. on Wednesday, just under half an hour before firing the single shot that killed Kirk, 31, at a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University, Beau Mason from the Utah Department of Public Safety said at an early morning press conference.
Law enforcement has tracked the gunman’s movements through stairwells and up onto the roof, from where he fired the single fatal shot, Mason said.
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Authorities have footage of the suspected gunman and are using technology to try to identify him, Mason said, adding that the video will not be made public yet.
“We are confident in our abilities right now, and we would like to move forward in a manner that keeps everyone safe and then moves this process appropriately,” Mason explained when asked why the video was not being released.
A high-powered bolt-action rifle, believed to be the killer’s weapon, was recovered from a “in a wooded area where the shooter had fled” near campus, said the FBI’s Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls, adding that the bureau had received more than 130 tips related to the shooting so far.
A “footwear impression, a palm print, and forearm imprints” were also collected from the scene and sent to a forensics lab for analysis, Bohls said.
Anyone with video or images of the shootings is being urged to get in touch with authorities, Bohls said.
The gunman’s current whereabouts are unclear, but it was determined he was not hiding in the wooded area where his gun was recovered, Bohls added.
“We 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 the community is at risk. However, we are exhausting every resource to find him, and we will do so,” he said.
Thursday morning’s press conference was opened by acknowledging the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.
“Historically, on 9/11, law enforcement has come together as a group to recognize and honor those who sacrificed to preserve the ideals of this country, the freedoms of this country,” Mason said. “Instead, we find ourselves today hunting a murderer who chose to violate our rights, the rights of an individual within this country.”
Authorities added that they have been in regular contact with Kirk’s “devastated” wife Erika, who was in the crowd watching the father-of-two speak when he was assassinated.
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