OREM, Utah\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Authorities released a video Thursday evening of a suspect running across the roof of a building at Utah Valley University and jumping to the ground as the search for a gunman in the killing of influential right-wing activist Charlie Kirk continued. <\/p>\n
The man was described as wearing blue jeans, a baseball cap with a triangle, Converse tennis shoes and a dark long-sleeved T-shirt with what appears to be American flag and an eagle. <\/p>\n
\u201cAll identifying features that we\u2019re hoping the public can help us identify and lead us to this suspect,\u201d said Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety at an evening news conference. <\/p>\n
Earlier in the day, authorities unveiled grainy photos of the same man captured on security camera video clenching his fists and walking up a stairway. They urged the public to report any information that could lead to his identification or arrest. <\/p>\n
No suspects were in custody Thursday evening, more than 24 hours after the shooting. <\/p>\n
In the video, the suspect can be seen running across the parking lot toward a clump of trees on campus. Authorities used this evidence to track the suspect\u2019s movements and recover the weapon they believe was used to kill Kirk from the same wooded area, said Mason.<\/p>\n
Robert Bohls, the special agent in charge of the FBI\u2019s Salt Lake City office, said the firearm was a high-powered bolt-action rifle. <\/p>\n
Investigators were tracking a person who appeared to be college-age and blended in on campus. They have scoured dozens of feeds from campus security cameras and collected footwear impressions, a palm print and forearm imprints for analysis.<\/p>\n
The FBI announced<\/a> it was offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of the gunman. More than 7,000 tips have been received so far, which is the largest number submitted in any incident since the 2013 Boston bombing, said Mason.<\/p>\n A close ally of President Trump who founded the conservative youth group Turning Point USA, Kirk was killed Wednesday at the Orem campus by a single shot fired from the rooftop of a nearby building as he addressed questions about mass shootings and transgender people.<\/p>\n The killing of a beloved figure in American conservatism \u2014 a man who relished debate and challenging left-wing orthodoxies on college campuses \u2014 has roiled national politics. Over the last decade, the 31-year-old forged connections with leading figures of the Trump administration.<\/p>\n On Thursday, Trump announced he would posthumously award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Kirk, praising him as \u201ca champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people.\u201d The flag at the White House North Lawn was lowered to half-staff.<\/p>\n Hours later, Vice President JD Vance, who called Kirk a \u201ctrue friend,\u201d landed with his wife, Usha, at Salt Lake City International Airport on Air Force Two to meet Kirk\u2019s wife, Erika, and their two children. They then escorted Kirk\u2019s casket to Arizona alongside Kirk\u2019s family and several of his friends. Trump told reporters he intended to attend Kirk\u2019s funeral in Phoenix once it\u2019s scheduled. <\/p>\n Video of the university crowd captured during Wednesday\u2019s event by an attendee shows a lone figure in black dashing across the roof of the Losee Center, a building about 150 yards from where Kirk spoke. <\/p>\n After scrutinizing security camera video, investigators said they believed the shooter arrived on campus at about 11:52 a.m. and ascended the stairwells to the roof and across to the shooting location, Mason said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe 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 neighborhood,\u201d Mason said. <\/p>\n Some experts who saw videos said the assailant probably had experience with firearms, given the precision with which the single shot was fired from a considerable distance.<\/p>\n A law enforcement source told The Times the weapon was a Mauser 30-06. Investigators have not said whether the rifle had been traced to an owner.<\/p>\n A source familiar with the investigation told The Times on Thursday that the ammunition recovered with the rifle had engravings, including alphanumeric characters, that the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were seeking to interpret. <\/p>\n Several media outlets described a summary report circulated within the ATF that says the markings reference \u201ctransgender and anti fascist ideology.\u201d However, a law enforcement source told The Times that was just one interpretation and cautioned that it could turn out to be wrong. <\/p>\n As investigators consider the significance of the markings, the speculation is certain to inflame national tensions at a time when transgender rights and healthcare are at the center of the culture wars. <\/p>\n Early Thursday, FBI agents and federal law enforcement in Utah focused on a modest residential neighborhood directly northeast of the university, canvassing neighbors for video or information. One under-construction home abutting a patch of trees had crime tape surrounding it as neighbors came out to greet agents.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was hard to sleep last night,\u201d said Truman Van Cott, who helped agents connect with his neighbors who had security camera video.<\/p>\n Hope for a speedy capture of the shooter faded Wednesday night after the FBI released the man its director, Kash Patel, had said<\/a> was a subject of the investigation. After thanking local and state authorities for taking into custody \u201cthe subject for the horrific shooting,\u201d Patel announced<\/a> that the man had been released after an interrogation by law enforcement.<\/p>\n Another man who was taken into custody a few hours earlier was later released after being booked by Utah Valley University police on suspicion of obstruction of justice.<\/p>\n The shooter fired about 20 minutes after Kirk began speaking Wednesday on a grassy campus courtyard under a white canopy emblazoned with the slogan \u201cPROVE ME WRONG.\u201d The event, attended by about 3,000 people, was the first stop on Kirk\u2019s American Comeback Tour of U.S. campuses.<\/p>\n Multiple videos shared on social media<\/a> show Kirk sitting on a chair, taking questions in front of a large crowd of people.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?\u201d an audience member asked.<\/p>\n \u201cToo many,\u201d Kirk said as some in the crowd cheered.<\/p>\n The audience member told him five, then asked a follow-up question: \u201cDo you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCounting or not counting gang violence?\u201d Kirk responded.<\/p>\n Almost immediately, a shot rang out. Kirk fell back, blood spurting from his neck. Video shows people screaming and fleeing.<\/p>\n The killing led to swift condemnation of political violence from both sides of the ideological divide. But it also led to a blame game.<\/p>\n After celebrating Kirk as a \u201cpatriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate\u201d and a \u201cmartyr for truth and freedom,\u201d Trump said in an evening video broadcast<\/a> that \u201c\u2018radical left\u201d rhetoric was \u201cdirectly responsible for the terrorism that we\u2019re seeing in our country today.\u201d <\/p>\n The president \u2014 who did not mention recent acts of political violence against Democratic lawmakers<\/a> \u2014 called for a crackdown on left-wing groups. <\/p>\n Even as the House of Representatives observed a moment of silence for Kirk on Wednesday when he was still in critical condition, the floor descended into chaos<\/a> when some Democrats pushed back on a Republican legislator\u2019s request that someone lead the group in prayer.<\/p>\n \u201cYou all caused this,\u201d Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, a close friend of Kirk, shouted at Democrats. <\/p>\n Most Democratic politicians issued statements rebuking Kirk\u2019s killing. But as some left-wing progressives took to the internet to celebrate Kirk\u2019s demise and condemn his political legacy, a slew of Republicans shared<\/a> screenshots of their posts in an attempt to publicly shame them. Some called for extreme punishment.<\/p>\n