(SALT LAKE CITY) — The FBI said it has recovered what is believed to be the weapon used in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

A “high-powered bolt action rifle,” which officials believe was the weapon used in the shooting, was recovered in a wooded area near where the shooting took place, according to Salt Lake City FBI Special Agent Robert Bohls.

The manhunt for the suspect, who is believed to be college-aged, continues, with officials working “around the clock” to locate the individual, officials said during a press conference on Thursday.

The FBI asked for tips from the public as the manhunt for the perpetrator continued, urging anyone with information, photos and video from the incident to share it with investigators.

FBI Director Kash Patel said earlier the agency “stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation.”

UVU will be closed until Sept. 14, according to a notice posted on the university’s website.

As the search for the suspect continued, President Donald Trump and prominent MAGA personalities sought to tie the killing to Democratic political rhetoric.

In a video posted to social media, Trump said, “It’s a long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree.”

“For years, those on the radical Left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals,” he added. “This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.”

Trump’s son Eric, meanwhile, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity he was “sick and tired of seeing the bullets — they are only going one way.”

Controversial campus visit

Kirk — a 31-year-old father of two — was considered a confidant of Trump and highly influential in the conservative youth movement.

He founded the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA in 2012 at the age of 18, and in the 2024 elections was credited with building significant support for Trump among young voters.

He was hit by a single shot during the outdoors event at the university’s Orem campus shortly after noon. Kirk was taken to hospital but was later pronounced dead.

The Utah event was expected to include a “prove me wrong” table, according to the tour’s website.

Ahead of Kirk’s visit to Utah Valley University, some students started an online petition asking university administrators to stop him from coming.

Though Kirk’s visit was controversial on campus, police were tracking no specific or credible threats before the fatal shooting, Utah law enforcement sources told ABC News.

More than 3,000 people were estimated to be at the event, according to the university’s police chief, Jeff Long. There were six police officers, along with Kirk’s private security, according to Long.

Ongoing manhunt

Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason called the shooting a “targeted attack,” and said the scene is a “very large area.”

Mason said the “only information” they have on the possible shooter was taken from CCTV on campus, and that the person was dressed in all dark clothing. The shot was fired on campus from a “longer distance,” potentially from a roof, he said.

There is no evidence that anyone else was involved, according to authorities.

Authorities are combing through video from the scene, including this video which appears to show a person on the roof immediately following the shooting, according to sources familiar with the ongoing investigation. 

During a press conference yesterday, authorities said the shot came “potentially from a roof, yes. A longer distance shot from a roof.” 

Separately, authorities said they are also looking at security camera video depicting someone dressed in all dark clothing and that “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,” according to a statement from law enforcement officials last night. 

The FBI has established a digital media tip line for the public to provide any tips to investigators, including photos or video of the incident.

Salt Lake City FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls said the investigation is in the early stages.

“We are following all the leads and all the evidence,” he said during the press briefing on Wednesday.

The Utah Department of Public of Safety said in an update Wednesday night that two people were initially taken into custody after the shooting but later released.

The first was released and later charged with obstruction by university police. The second person was taken into custody and released after an “interrogation” by law enforcement, the department said.

Utah authorities said “there are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals.”

Tributes from both parties

Trump was among those who paid tribute to Kirk.

“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump said on social media. “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. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”

“It’s horrific. It’s one of the most horrible things I’ve ever seen,” Trump told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl.

“He was a great guy,” Trump said. “He was a good man. He was an incredible guy. Nobody like him.”

Trump ordered all American flags throughout the country to be lowered to half-staff through Sunday evening in Kirk’s honor.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called the fatal shooting a “political assassination.”

Vice President JD Vance called Kirk “a genuinely good guy and a young father” while urging prayers in the aftermath of the shooting.

Cox said earlier he was being briefed “following the violence directed at Charlie Kirk” during the conservative political activist’s visit to the campus.

“Those responsible will be held fully accountable. Violence has no place in our public life. Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act,” he said on X.

Condemnation came from both sides of the political spectrum.

“There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now,” Former President Joe Biden said. “Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirk’s family and loved ones.”

“The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying and this growing type of unconscionable violence cannot be allowed in our society,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said on X.

Fellow Democratic governor, California’s Gavin Newsom, said on X that the “attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.”

ABC News’ Aaron Katersky, Ivan Pereira, Lalee Ibssa, Isabella Murray, Katherine Faulders, Jack Date, Chris Looft and Helena Skinner contributed to this report.

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