”The suspect for the terrible shooting that took Charlie Kirk's life today is now arrested”, says FBI chief Kash Patel on X.
According to authorities in Utah, Kirk was killed with a shot, and one suspects that it was a targeted attack. There is nothing to suggest that several people were behind the shooting. The suspected person is being interrogated.
The shooter on the roof on campus
The authorities state that Kirk was shot by a person who was on a roof a bit away on campus, and who wore dark clothes.
Utah's Republican governor Spencer Cox calls the incident a ”political execution”.
This is a dark day for our state. It is a tragic day for our country. I want to be clear that this is a political execution, he says during a press conference.
I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty here in the state of Utah.
The act occurred on Wednesday around 8:30 PM Swedish time. After the shooting, Kirk was taken to hospital, where he later died.
Was close to Trump
Initially, another person was arrested for a shorter time, but that person has been released.
31-year-old Kirk was a conservative political commentator, debater, and media personality who was close to President Donald Trump. It was the president who announced Kirk's death.
Kirk co-founded the organization Turning Point USA and was, according to the organization's website, at Utah Valley University as part of what is described as a conversation tour with a focus on conservative values.
Kirk has become an increasingly influential voice in the American debate and has 5.2 million followers on X and 7.3 million followers on Tiktok. He was particularly known for organizing large public debates like the one in Utah, where people in the audience are invited to debate various topics with Kirk.
