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Charlie Kirk, 31, died Wednesday September 10th, after a fatal shooting at a speaking event at Utah Valley University. Here’s what we know.
Kirk’s death has sparked a global swirl of outrage and condemnation, with varied explanation and pushback. Gov. Cox of Utah called it a ‘political assassination’ in his press conference, and what may be our first material evidence seems to point towards him being correct.
UPDATES ON THE SHOOTER
Frustration has continued to mount as legions of Kirk’s supporters seek answers as to the shooters identity and motive. In a Thursday morning press conference, authorities confirmed that they “have good video of this individual,” but “are not going to be releasing that at this time.” If they can not track the killer, they continued, footage will be released to the media to help identify and find the suspect. They described the individual as “college aged.”
UPDATE 10:08 p.m.
Video of the shooter, via FBI:
In the press conference, the Governor of Utah made clear that the death penalty will be pursued, and affidavits are being pursued to that effect.
UPDATE 8:40 p.m. EST
At 8:05 p.m., Utah’s Department of Public Safety released more images of their person of interest:

We're releasing additional photos of the person of interest in connection with the murder of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. Please send all tips available to: https://t.co/XXzYBH1GkE pic.twitter.com/DgLOlrU6Cx
— Utah Public Safety (@UtahDPS) September 12, 2025
UPDATE 7:08 p.m. EST
Local news reports that law enforcement has the name of the person of interest.
This was retracted by KUTV, the local Utah news source.
UPDATE 6:59 p.m. EST
TMZ claims to have video of the person of interest, which they’ve posted on X. TMZ states the video was taken mere minutes before the FBI claims they had arrived on campus. The individual does not appear to be carrying a rifle matching reported descriptions of the weapon used, and the FBI has not publicly confirmed the individual below is their current person of interest.
#EXCLUSIVE 🚨 Charlie Kirk Person of Interest Seen On Video Heading Toward Campushttps://t.co/fOlM1oxCPO pic.twitter.com/ZFKO5qKopM
— TMZ (@TMZ) September 11, 2025
UPDATE: 12:01 p.m. EST
At 11:58 p.m. EST, the X account for the FBI in Salt Lake shared a visual of a person of interest with a request for information:
We are asking for the public's help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.
1-800-CALL-FBI
Digital media tips: https://t.co/K7maX81TjJ pic.twitter.com/ALuVkTXuDc— FBI Salt Lake City (@FBISaltLakeCity) September 11, 2025
WEAPON IDENTIFIED?
Per a scoop from Steven Crowder, the weapon used in the killing may have been identified. Crowder quotes an ATF communication as saying:
“On September 10, 2025, at approximately 12:24PM, Conservative political influencer Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at the Utah Valley University in Orem, UT. Mr. Kirk was speaking at the University as part of the American Comeback Tour. Multiple SLC I and III agents responded immediately. The suspect fired one shot from an elevated position on a rooftop in an adjacent building on the campus and surveillance video shows the suspect, jumping off and fleeing the area on foot. ATF and other law-enforcement located an older model imported Mauser .30-06 caliber bolt action rifle wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near the campus. The location of the firearm appears to match the suspects route of travel. The spent cartridge was still chambered in addition to three unspent rounds at the top fed magazine. All cartridges have engraved wording on them, expressing transgender and anti-fascist ideology. An emergency trace has been submitted an ATF SLC is working leads generated by the trace. The firearm and ammunition have been taken by the FBI for DNA analysis and fingerprint impressions. Upon completion of forensics, the firearm will be disassembled for additional importer information. Multiple people of interest having contacted or detained because of eyewitness testimony and review of video footage. The primary suspect is yet to be identified. ATF is assisting the investigation with multiple other federal, state, and local partners and the case is co-led by the FBI and Utah SBI.”
Emphasis added by Revolver.
EXCLUSIVE: This morning my team received an e-mail from officer at ATF.
The email included a screen shot from what appears to be an internal message describing a weapon and cartridges located by an ATF and other law enforcement near the scene of the Charlie Kirk shooting at… pic.twitter.com/UKtOUPY5DC
— Steven Crowder (@scrowder) September 11, 2025
UPDATE: 12:22 p.m. EST: A Wall Street Journal article was claimed to have “confirmed” the engravings, but the article did not appear to confirm that this was any additional confirmation beyond the information beyond Crowder’s X post. These details have not, as of this update, been confirmed publicly by any associated law enforcement body.
UPDATE 5:29 p.m.
Crowder reports being subpoenaed for his report
Just received word that my company is being subpoenaed by the ATF. No details yet. https://t.co/ProSs4KrBa
— Steven Crowder (@scrowder) September 11, 2025
CNN indicates that the markings may have been misinterpreted:
Two law enforcement sources told CNN that agents quickly ran an initial search on one of the markings, including a series of arrows, which analysts initially interpreted to be a connection to the transgender community. That information remains unverified and is still being investigated.
MEDIA
Update 12:34 p.m. EST: According to the New York Post, Comedy Central has pulled a South Park episode seeming mocking Kirk:
The Paramount Skydance-owned network quietly removed the rerun of the episode “Got a Nut” from its cable lineup Wednesday night, just hours after Kirk, 31, was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University.
Instead of airing Season 27, Episode 2 — in which Eric Cartman adopts Kirk’s mannerisms and appearance for a satirical college debate podcast — Comedy Central slotted in Episode 1 from the same season.
PUBLIC
Some left wingers have been extremely open about their personal animus toward Kirk. While comments such as these have not historically drawn much personal consequence versus right wingers, this may also be changing, at least for Kirk’s death.
Here’s the firing of the Assistant Dean of Students at Middle Tennessee State University:
BREAKING: Assistant Dean of Students at MTSU has been FIRED effective immediately following vile comments celebrating Charlie’s death. https://t.co/kus1M9qShe pic.twitter.com/X6WK7dazXY
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 11, 2025
9/10:
SHOOTER
In the chaos of the event and surrounding frantic social media activity, confusion arose as to the identity of the shooter. An individual arrested at the event was and described in social media posts as the shooter, but shortly after, this was corrected. At 6:22 p.m., FBI Kash Patel director posted on X that a subject related to the shooting was in custody. At a press conference around the same time, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said that a “person of interest” was in custody but would not confirm if the person in custody was the shooter. At 7:59 p.m. Eastern, Patel posted that the ‘subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement.’
By all public accounts, the shooter appears to still be at large.
The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody. Thank you to the local and state authorities in Utah for your partnership with @fbi.
We will provide updates when able.— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) September 10, 2025
The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency https://t.co/YXsG6YpFR5
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) September 10, 2025
Visuals of the alleged shooter:
Look on the roof top https://t.co/RQ4jQgrN6R pic.twitter.com/OHTt1ImrJo
— Dustin Ivers (@dustin_ivers) September 10, 2025

A possible shooter location for Kirk assassination has been Identified. It maps out as having a good site line and sufficient elevation and slope. The videographer was not at the event itself. He noticed someone running across the roof before shooting. 1000 feet from Charlie. pic.twitter.com/trpwORu2CD
— Sanmon (@Sanmon132) September 11, 2025
Correction: the previous version of this live blog stated that Patel ‘indicated’ the shooter was in custody. The 7:59 p.m. post on X seems to clarify that he was a referring to a ‘subject’ and not necessarily the shooter.
SMOTIVE
Without an identified shooter, having a clear motive is difficult to confirm. Law Enforcement has drawn criticism for withholding evidence from the public that may indicate motive in other killings and attempts with political salience, but Governor Cox was clear in his press conference: ‘I want to be very clear that this is a political assassination…’
PUBLIC RESPONSE
The administration has been quick, emphatic, and forceful in its responses of support for Kirk and his family:
Once again, a bullet has silenced the most eloquent truth teller of an era. My dear friend Charlie Kirk was our country's relentless and courageous crusader for free speech. We pray for Erika and the children. Charlie is already in paradise with the angels. We ask his prayers for… pic.twitter.com/ReOdkT6VbV
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) September 10, 2025
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) September 10, 2025
Some republicans have also pointed the finger at Democrats, including Congresswoman Nancy Mace (SC-R): ‘Democrats own what happened today…’
At least one high-level Democrat rejected the criticism. Here’s Senator Warren:
Elizabeth Warren on people who say Dems needs to tone down their rhetoric: "Oh, please. Why don't you start with the president of the United States? And every ugly meme he's posted and every ugly word." pic.twitter.com/v2KA3i13ie
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 11, 2025
MEDIA RESPONSE
Critics of Kirk have varied in their responses. Amongst Legacy Media, MSNBC has apologized for some of its coverage:
Statement from MSNBC president Rebecca Kutler: “During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable. We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in…
— MSNBC Public Relations (@MSNBCPR) September 10, 2025
Jezebel attached the below Editor’s Note to the top of a post from two days ago: We Paid Some Etsy Witches to Curse Charlie Kirk
Editor’s Note: This story was published on September 8. Jezebel condemns the shooting of Charlie Kirk in the strongest possible terms. We do not endorse, encourage, or excuse political violence of any kind.
This blog will update with more information as it is gathered and confirmed.
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