UPDATE: Suspect in connection with Charlie Kirk shooting is 22-year-old from Utah, AP source says
The person believed to be responsible for the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a Utah university this week is in custody, President Donald Trump announced on “Fox & Friends” Friday morning.
“I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him,” Trump said during a live interview. “Everybody did a great job.”
“So much work has been done over the last two-and-a-half days,” he added.
Trump did not detail how investigators found the suspect, but did tell the show’s hosts, “essentially, somebody that was very close to him turned him in.” He later went on to suggest that the shooter’s father convinced him to surrender to police.
Federal investigators and state officials on Thursday released a series of photos and a video of the person they believe is responsible. Kirk was hit as he spoke to a crowd gathered in a courtyard at Utah Valley University in Orem.
More than 7,000 leads and tips have poured in, officials said. But authorities have yet to name a suspect or cite a motive in the killing, the latest act of political violence to convulse the United States.
“We cannot do our job without the public’s help,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said during a Thursday evening news conference with FBI Director Kash Patel, who did not speak.
The direct appeals for public support, including new and enhanced photos of a person in a hat, sunglasses, a long-sleeve black shirt and a backpack, appeared to signal law enforcement’s continued struggles.
Two people who were taken into custody shortly after the shooting were determined not to be connected.
Officials had offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Cox said he’s prepared to seek the death penalty.
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