Everything we know about Charlie Kirk shooter as FBI hunt assassin

The manhunt to find a the shooter being the assassination of conservative influence Charlie Kirkis ongoing as the FBI offers $100,000 (£73,600) for information leading to their identification.

Kirk, 31, was holding an eventdebating students and others at Utah Valley University on Wednesday when he was fatally shot in the neck. Despite being rushed to an area hospital in Orem, also in Utah, he was pronounced dead shortly afterward.

While many questions remain about the shooting, the FBI has released images of the person of interest wantedfollowing the shooting. The shooter fired at Kirk as he spoke to about 3,000 people while seated in a white tent when he was seriously wounded.

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READ MORE: Charlie Kirk dead UPDATES: FBI release images in hunt for 'person of interest'

Kirk built a large online following for his visits to university campuses across the US and beyond where he would debate a number of topics, such as gun violence and free speech. He had been taking a question about mass shootings when he was shot in the neck.

He was taken to hospital shortly afterward with the campus being thrown into chaos. The bullet is believed to have come from a rooftop more than 100 yards away and Kirk was killed with a single bullet.

Shooter's movements, 'sniper position' and escape

Investigators believe the killer arrived on campus at 11.52am - some 40 minutes before the assassination - on Wednesday. They say he used stairwells to reach his sniping position.

Videos appeared to show the gunman running along the Losee Centre building, across from where Kirk was speaking. Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said: “After the shooting, we were able to track his movements as he moved to the other side of the building, jumped off of the building and fled off of the campus and into a neighbourhood.

“Our investigators have worked through those neighbourhoods, contacting anybody they can with doorbell cameras … and have thoroughly worked through those communities trying to identify any leads.”

Many have questioned how the killer has managed to remain at large so long, while only six campus police officers were at the event despite thousands being in attendance.

Evidence left at the scene

The FBI said the shooter left behind a chilling trail. Investigators located a "high-powered, bolt-action rifle," which was said to be an older-model Mauser 30-6, that was dumped in nearby woodland.

A footwear impression, a palm print and forearm imprints were also found. Numerous bullets, including a used round were recovered from the scene. The ammunition and weapon are now being traced by Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives experts in West Virginia.

Robert Bohls, the FBI’s Salt Lake City chief, said his agents would "analyse the weapon." He insisted the killing "was a targeted event” and “we don’t believe the community is at risk."

'Person of interest' pictured

There was confusion in the hours that followed with the FBI twice announcing a suspect or person of interest had been apprehended before it was later revealed they were released without further incident. Fresh images have been released of a new person of interest tonight.

The person of interest was seen wearing sunglasses, a baseball cap, a black shirt with an American flag design on the front, and jeans. An FBI press conference that was slated for today was postponed following "rapid developments."

The release appeared to indicate that efforts to identify him using facial recognition technology did not work. The police said earlier that they had video of him walking up a stairwell as he travelled to the rooftop where the gunshot was fired from.

FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bangino are flying out to Orem, Utah. Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau said Washington would “undertake appropriate action” against anyone on American soil, praising, rationalising, or making light of the murder of the right-wing firebrand.

That could include cancelling visas, he confirmed - part of a sweeping crackdown already targeting students with links to anti-Gaza war protests. “In light of the horrific assassination of a leading political figure, I want to underscore that foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country,” Landau wrote on his official X account.