Charlie Kirk, a conservative political activist and a close ally of President Trump, was shot and killed on Wednesday afternoon while speaking at Utah Valley University in what officials described as a political assassination.
As a multiagency investigation continued into Thursday, hope for the fast capture of the shooter faded. Two people whom officials detained were released on Wednesday.
Here’s what we know about the shooting.
What happened in the attack?
Mr. Kirk, 31, was hit by a bullet at about 12:20 p.m. on Wednesday, some 20 minutes into his speech in a courtyard on campus, according to the university.
He was seated under a tent marked with “The American Comeback,” the slogan for his speaking tour. Blood spilled from Mr. Kirk’s neck as he fell from his chair, videos showed, and he was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Utah officials said they believed the shooter had fired from a rooftop. A university spokeswoman said the attack came from the Losee Center, a building about 150 yards from where Mr. Kirk stood.
About 3,000 people were in the crowd, officials said, with six university police officers working security in addition to Mr. Kirk’s own security detail.
Before he was shot, Mr. Kirk had been responding to a question about transgender mass shooting suspects, Andrew Piskadlo, who attended the event, told The New York Times.
Has the shooter been found?
No suspects were in custody early Thursday, and the authorities were continuing to search for the gunman.
Two people were detained in the chaotic first hours after the shooting, and officials gave clashing information about the state of the investigation.
Shortly after the shooting, university officials said that a person had been detained. It was later determined that he was not the gunman. Officials said that person, identified as George Zinn, a local political activist, was later released and charged with obstruction of justice.
Later on Wednesday, F.B.I. Director Kash Patel announced a second arrest, saying that “the subject for the horrific shooting” had been taken into custody. He congratulated law enforcement, seeming to herald an end to the search.
But at a news conference a few minutes later, Utah officials described an individual in custody only as a person of interest who was being interviewed.
Mr. Patel then reversed his announcement, saying that the person had been released after being interrogated and that the investigation was continuing.
The F.B.I. has asked the public for information about the shooting.
Who was Charlie Kirk?
Mr. Kirk was a conservative activist and media personality known for his campus organizing and influence in the MAGA movement.
He was the founder of Turning Point USA, which has become the nation’s pre-eminent conservative youth organization, with over 850 chapters at colleges and high schools across the country. In addition bringing high-profile right-wing speakers to college campuses, the group provides training and networking for young conservative activists.
Mr. Kirk was part of Mr. Trump’s inner circle. After Mr. Trump won a second term in November, Mr. Kirk joined an intimate group of advisers who vetted potential White House appointees to make sure they had shown unflagging loyalty to the President.
Utah Valley University was the first stop on Mr. Kirk’s American Comeback Tour, on which he was scheduled to visit campuses across the country to talk about conservative politics.
What has been the response?
Democrats and Republicans quickly and vehemently denounced the shooting. Others sought to cast blame.
Mr. Trump ordered American flags to be lowered to half-staff until Sunday evening. In a video address from the Oval Office, he said that rhetoric from the “radical left” contributed to Mr. Kirk’s killing, and linked it to other recent attacks on Republicans, including the attempt on his own life last year during a political rally in Pennsylvania.
Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. wrote on X, “There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now.” Former President Barack Obama echoed the sentiment, writing on social media: “This kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy.”
In Congress, a moment of silence for Mr. Kirk on Wednesday afternoon deteriorated into partisan acrimony.
Pooja Salhotra covers breaking news across the United States.
Yan Zhuang is a Times reporter in Seoul who covers breaking news.
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