The person accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk is 22-year-old Utah resident Tyler Robinson, according to five law enforcement officials briefed on the matter.
Kirk, a co-founder of Turning Point USA and an influential voice in the Trump administration, was shot and killed Wednesday during an event at Utah Valley University, a public school south of Salt Lake City, according to Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason. The event was hosted by the school's chapter of Turning Point USA, a group Kirk founded that organizes and mobilizes young conservatives.
He was later pronounced dead at a local hospital, Mason said.
A witness told NBC News that he heard a gunshot and saw Kirk fall out of his chair. Blood appeared to be coming from his neck, said Taylor Dufur, who said he was roughly 30 feet from Kirk at the time.
Law enforcement officials said the shot was believed to have been fired by a person on the roof of a building. In an interview with NBC News, Mason said the single shot fired at Kirk traveled a distance of roughly 175 yards.
Investigators tracked the person's movements on campus, through stairwells and across a roof, Mason said at a news conference Thursday. After opening fire, Mason said, the person was seen jumping from a building and fleeing to a neighborhood.
Video released by authorities Thursday captured the person they described as the shooter running across a building's roof and descending onto a grassy area below. The person can then be seen walking past a parking lot toward a busy road.
The person "blended in well with the college institution,” Mason said.
The FBI was analyzing a weapon described as high-powered bolt-action rifle that was recovered in a wooded area where the shooter is believed to have fled, according to the public safety department. Investigators were also examining trace evidence collected from the rooftop — a palm print, a forearm imprint and a shoe impression, the FBI said.
In a statement, Turning Point USA said Kirk had faced “thousands” of threats throughout his life but “always prioritized reaching as many young Americans as possible over his own personal safety.”
“All of us will miss Charlie,” the group said. “None of us will ever forget him.”
In a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, President Donald Trump announced Kirk's death on Wednesday and said that no one "understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie."
“He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us,” Trump said.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/suspect-charlie-kirk-shooting-tyler-robinson-rcna230504 (Archive)
https://apnews.com/live/charlie-kirk-shooting-news#00000199-3e4b-df88-a3bd-3fcf34710000 (Archive)
Última edición:
