The manhunt for the suspected shooter in Charlie Kirk’s assassination is still ongoing, according to federal authorities on Wednesday night.
Kirk, the founder of the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, died after he was shot during an event at Utah Valley University earlier in the day.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called the fatal shooting a “political assassination.”
The Utah Department of Public of Safety said Wednesday night that two people were initially taken into custody after the shooting but later released.
The first was released and later charged with obstruction by university police. The second person was taken into custody and released after an interrogation by law enforcement, the department said.
Utah authorities said “there are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals.”
The FBI said said it is working alongside state and local law enforcement to “to fully investigate and seek justice in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk”.
A single shot was fired on Utah Valley University’s Orem campus toward Kirk, according to the school.
“He was hit and taken from the location by his security,” the university said.
Kirk was taken to a hospital after being shot, according to Turning Point USA, which said, “with a heavy heart that we confirm that Charles James Kirk has been murdered by a gun shot”.
“No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie,” Trump said as he announced Kirk’s death. “He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
FBI Director Kash Patel said earlier the agency “stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation.”
“Those responsible will be held fully accountable. Violence has no place in our public life. Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act,” Cox said on X.
