Charlie Kirk shooting latest: search for shooting suspect continues as FBI asks public for help

The black T-shirt worn by the person of interest in the killing of Charlie Kirk, as seen in grainy surveillance-camera images distributed by the FBI on Thursday, appears to have come from a veterans charity, the Disabled Veterans National Foundation.

The foundation confirmed to the Guardian that the shirt, with an image of an eagle over the American flag, and the words “Land of the Free” and “Home of the Brave,” taken from the final line of the US national anthem, “was mailed as a gift to potential DVNF supporters over the past few years.”

The foundation adds that it “has never sold this shirt, and it is not currently available for distribution.”

The foundation’s website indicates that, until recently, the shirt was sent to donors.

The shirt is, however, available for purchase on eBay, with either long sleeves or short sleeves.

The person in the images appears to have been wearing a long-sleeved version of the shirt, but, because the images are grainy, it is possible that the person could have been wearing a short-sleeved version over another long-sleeved shirt.

On eBay, a removable sticker on a recently sold version of the shirt has the logo of the foundation and the words: “Show your patriotism and honor our heroes who sacrificed so much so that we may enjoy the freedoms we have today by wearing this T-shirt.”

The president’s team will take additional security measures following the assassination of Charlie Kirk, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

The Journal cites a senior White House official, who said that Trump’s remarks at the Pentagon today were moved to “a more secure location”. And report also notes that when the president attends a Yankees game on Thursday, people in and around the stadium “can expect to see increased law enforcement presence”, according to the Secret Service.

Per my earlier post, that several historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have received threats, forcing their campuses to close and classes to be cancelled, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries has issued a statement calling the threats “despicable”.

He added that these were “another indication that the explosion of hateful extremism is out of control”, and urged the justice department and FBI to investigate the threats.

“These attempts to intimidate everyday Americans will not stand. We need leadership at this moment that brings the country together,” Jeffries said.

Republican representative Anna Paulina Luna has said that TikTok has agreed to remove the video of Charlie Kirk’s shooting from their platform. She shared a statement from the social media app:

We remain committed to proactively enforcing our Community Guidelines and have implemented additional safeguards to prevent people from unexpectedly viewing footage that violates our rules.

Luna added that TikTok have, allegedly, confirmed they will remove all videos of anyone using Kirk’s murder to “threaten others and/or incite violence”.

The organisation that Charlie Kirk founded, Turning Point USA, has posted a statement to Kirk’s social media profile.

“All of us have lost a leader, a mentor, and a friend,” the statement reads. “In his thirty-one years, Charlie lived more than of us will in a hundred.”

Turning Point said “above all” Kirk “wished to be remembered for his faith, far more than any political victory”.

They added that “his legacy will endure” and he would remain the “brave young man who inspired tens of millions of Americans to better themselves and take action to better America”.

• The search for Kirk’s killer continues today. The Salt Lake City FBI field office shared two pictures of a person of interest in the shooting of Charlie Kirk. Both images show a person in black sunglasses, a baseball cap, a long sleeved black shirt and jeans. The FBI is asking for the public’s help identifying the person in connection with the attack at Utah Valley University, and is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of the people or person responsible.

• Donald Trump announced that he will award Kirk a posthumous Presidential Medal of Freedom. Trump called Kirk a “giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people”. He made the remarks at an event to observe the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Trump also told reporters that he would be speaking to Kirk’s family later today.

• At a press conference earlier, an FBI official said that investigators have recovered a “high powered bolt action rifle” they believe to be the weapon used to kill Charlie Kirk in yesterday’s shooting. The commissioner for the Utah Department of Public Safety, Beau Mason, said that shooter “blended in” with the crowd, and “appears to be of college age”.

• Mason added that officials have been able to trace the shooter’s movement after the attack: “He moved to the other side of the building, jumped off of the building, and fled off of the campus into a neighborhood.”

• Meanwhile, reactions from both sides of the political spectrum have poured in over the last 24 hours. Notably, far-right commentators have echoed the president’s claims that Kirk’s murder was “an act of war from the left”.

Robert Tait

Tina Smith, the Democratic senator for Minnesota – a state which witnessed political violence less than three months ago – said she was assailed with a horrific sense of deja vu on hearing the news of Charlie Kirk’s murder.

“Honestly, the first thing that came to my mind was a sense of ‘Not again! What’s next?’ and asking myself, ‘How do we arrest this cycle of political violence?’” she said, according to the Washington Post. “It is a human reaction to just turn away in horror when you see these kinds of things happen, but it’s just relentless. I’m almost speechless with despair at how often it’s happening.”

Smith’s sense of history repeating itself was a reference to the killing of Minnesota’s former state House speaker, Melissa Hortman, a Democrat, and her husband, Mark, by a man who came to their house posing as a police officer. The suspect, Vance Boelter, also shot another legislator and his wife. A hitlist containing Smith’s name was later found in his car.

The FBI and Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS) were due to hold a press conference in less than an hour to provide updates on their investigation into the shooting of conservative activist and Trump ally Charlie Kirk – including the identity and location of his killer.

A spokesperson for DPS says they are now suspending the press conference due to the ‘rapid developments’ in the case. An updated time will be announced later today.

We’re getting word that Capitol police are responding to an ‘incident’ at the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington DC.

Various media outlets shared a screenshot of the email from the Senate Operations Center which said that there is police activity in the area.

There have been no further details about the incident itself. We’ll bring you the latest lines as we get them.

in Orem, Utah

Koby Herrera, 22 and a Utah Valley University student, attended the rally when Charlie Kirk was shot. Wearing a Make America Great Again hat and a Texas belt buckle, Herrera said that he had followed Kirk online for a decade.

“Ive looked up to him since I was 12, 13, and got into politics,” Herrera said.

Herrera said that his love for Kirk was divisive among his friends and family. Herrera did not point to specific beliefs of Kirk’s that resonated with him, and focused instead on Kirk’s “freedom of speech” and “conviction of Jesus Christ”. Herrera said that for him, and other followers of Kirk, the shooting will likely only further their resolve.

“I think what the assassin did was give Charlie Kirk a bigger platform,” Herrera said. “I think it gave Charlie Kirk a microphone through his grave.”

The FBI is offering a reward of up to a staggering $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person or people responsible in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

It follows the Salt Lake City FBI field office sharing pictures of a person of interest in the shooting.

Anna Betts

Asked about the rumors of engravings on the ammunition and rifle apprehended in the investigation into Kirk’s fatal shooting, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives told the Guardian: “ATF cannot comment on this since it is still an active investigation.”