The suspect arrested in connection with Charlie Kirk’s assassination at Utah Valley University Wednesday was released after the FBI announced agents had detained the wrong person for a second time.
Kirk’s killer remains on the run — with the FBI and local cops hunting for him across the Salt Lake City region.
“The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement,” FBI Director Kash Patel posted to X Wednesday night, just over an hour after he announced “the subject of the horrific shooting” had been arrested.
Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, 2025. via REUTERS
The conservative influencer was conducting a Q&A session from a pop-up tent on campus at Utah Valley University.
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“Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency.”
The wrongly accused man was nabbed after police initially cuffed – and then released – an older man, who had been seen in social media videos being escorted from the Orem campus following the fatal shooting.
Authorities said Wednesday that the second suspect was identified through campus security footage.
He was also wearing dark clothing, police said.
A map of the Utah Valley University campus where Kirk was killed. Falon / NY Post Design
People in the crowd crouching and running for cover after Kirk was shot. via REUTERS
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called Kirk’s killing a “political assassination” – then indicated the killer could face the death penalty.
“I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty in the state of Utah,” Cox said.
The shooter is believed to have fired a single shot from an elevated position about 200 yards from the tent where Kirk was seated under a pop-up tent.
Kirk getting carried away from the scene of the shooting. ZUMAPRESS.com
The university confirmed the gunman shot from a building across the quad, and police indicated the shots came from the rooftop.
The mother of the second suspect mistakenly taken into custody described her son as a loyal listener of Kirk – and had been standing just 25 feet away from the right-wing activist when the fatal shot was fired.
Stay up to date on the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk
“He’s super shaken,” the frantic mother told The Post, noting she had spoken to her son following the chaos and did not know he had been arrested.
“He’s a great kid… I have a picture of him. He’s like 25 ft from Charlie on the other side that he was shot. He sent us a video. He was attending like any other college kid.”
Law enforcement officers investigating the campus after the shooting. Getty Images
Law enforcement officials are preparing to sweep a building at UVU to search for the shooter. AP
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot in the neck around after 12:20 p.m. local time Wednesday as he was speaking on the campus south of Salt Lake City.
Chilling footage circulating on social media could support that – moments after the fatal shot was fired, a distinct shape could be seen moving across the building roof as crowds cowered in the courtyard below.
Police would not comment on whether a weapon had been recovered.
Here’s the latest on the Charlie Kirk shooting in Utah
The gunman’s suspected shooting position suggests the killing was a calculated and deliberate plot.
Police also dismissed a video circulating online showing an older man being hauled away by police on Utah Valley’s campus Wednesday.
Kirk seen passing out MAGA hats at the event. AP
The man in the clip apparently told police he had shot Kirk, but law enforcement later confirmed he is not a suspect.
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Kirk was rushed to a nearby hospital after the shooting and taken into surgery in critical condition, but later succumbed to his injuries.
Police officers stationed at the scene of the shooting. REUTERS
President Trump confirmed the death personally on TruthSocial.
MAGA hats left at the tent where Kirk was murdered. REUTERS
“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump wrote after the shooting, confirming Kirk’s death.
“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” he said of Kirk, a married father of two young girls.
Horrifying footage from the event – where Kirk was debating with attendees opposed to his conservative opinions – showed a single gunshot ring out as he recoiled from the hit.
He had just been asked a question about transgender mass shooters when the bullet was fired.
Kirk has often been credited for galvanizing young Republican voters through his immensely popular conservative group, Turning Point USA, which focused on traveling to college campuses to promote its values.