Manhunt underway for gunman who killed Charlie Kirk

NewsNation is continuing its coverage of the assassination of Charlie Kirk and the manhunt for the shooter. This liveblog is now archived, click here for the latest.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries called for unity, a day after Charlie Kirk was shot and killed.

“The first reaction of everybody — everybody — should be to say, this is a horrible thing, we ought to come together and to not seek political advantage from it,” Schumer said Thursday at a news conference.

Jeffries said the shooting “should be denounced by everyone, and moving forward, we have to figure out a better way to come together, not as Democrats or Republicans but as Americans.”

Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee, a friend of Charlie Kirk, said his death “hits particularly hard.”

During Thursday’s Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, Lee said he talked to his fellow conservative “very regularly, sometimes several times a day.” Lee, who is the panel’s chairman, said their last text exchange was shortly before Kirk’s death.

Lee said the shooting also “hits home particularly heavy with me” because it occurred at Utah Valley University, a few miles from where Lee grew up and near where he now lives.

He said he has attended events at the school since he was a teenager.

“This is a safe place,” Lee said. “Not the kind of place where you expect something like this to happen. It’s truly tragic.”

Matthew Dowd, a political analyst and contributor for MSNBC, was fired over comments he made on the air Wednesday just minutes after Kirk’s assassination.

“We don’t know any of the details of this, we don’t know if this was a supporter shooting their gun off in celebration,” Dowd said while appearing on the network, calling Kirk “one of the more divisive figures in this.”

Dowd’s comments were met with swift pushback and prompted MSNBC President Rebecca Kutler to issue a statement.

“During our breaking news coverage of the shooting of Charlie Kirk, Matthew Dowd made comments that were inappropriate, insensitive and unacceptable,” Kutler said. “We apologize for his statements, as has he. There is no place for violence in America, political or otherwise.”

Dowd, who joined the network in 2022, issued an apology afterward.

“My thoughts & prayers are w/ the family and friends of Charlie Kirk. On an earlier appearance on MSNBC I was asked a question on the environment we are in. I apologize for my tone and words. Let me be clear, I in no way intended for my comments to blame Kirk for this horrendous attack. Let us all come together and condemn violence of any kind,” he wrote.

Late-night TV hosts Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel are among those decrying the killing of Charlie Kirk and condemning political violence.

Offering condolences to Kirk’s family, Colbert said in a pretaped message played at the beginning of Wednesday’s show, “I’m old enough to personally remember the political violence of the 1960s and I hope it is obvious to everyone in America that political violence does not solve any of our political differences.”

Kimmel also spoke out after Kirk’s killing.

“Instead of angry finger-pointing, can we just for one day agree that it is horrible and monstrous to shoot another human,” the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host wrote in a social media post.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., has asked billionaire Elon Musk to remove graphic videos of Charlie Kirk’s assassination from the social platform X. 

“I am calling on @elonmusk, @finkd and @tiktok_us to remove the horrifying videos of Charlie Kirk’s murder,” Luna wrote on X. “He has a family, young children, and no one should be forced to relive this tragedy online.”

She added, “These are not the only graphic videos of horrifying murders circulating — at some point, social media begins to desensitize humanity. We must still value life. Please take them down.” 

The videos from Utah Valley University, where Kirk was hosting an event Wednesday, have circulated on X and other platforms.

Trump said he will speak to Charlie Kirk’s family on Thursday afternoon.

“I can’t believe Charlie— what a great guy he was,” he told reporters as he left the Pentagon. “You don’t replace a Charlie Kirk. He was unique.”

Trump said he has been updated on the search for a suspect, adding, “They have a virtual manhunt out there. So we’ll see what happens. We hope you get them.”

President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he will posthumously award Charlie Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions and millions of people,” Trump said while speaking at the Pentagon.

The medal is the nation’s highest civilian honor. It is awarded to people who have made “exceptionally meritorious contributions to the nation’s prosperity, values, or security, world peace, or other significant public or private endeavours”.

As memorials pour in for Charlie Kirk, NewsNation’s Leland Vittert called his death “preventable” and said the lengthy hunt for a suspect is concerning.

“The idea that we have no idea who did this, is stunning,” Vittert said, adding that previous assassinations have always ended with a suspect in custody rather quickly.

“We sort of had that closure of understanding who did and also realized that there was not a continuing threat,” he added. “That doesn’t exist right now.”

Officials have recovered a high-powered, bolt-action rifle believed to have been used in the killing of Charlie Kirk, according to FBI special agent in charge Robert Bohls.

“That rifle was recovered in a wooded area where the shooter had fled,” he said.

The weapon was sent to an FBI lab to be analyzed.

Bohls also said investigators have collected “footwear impression, a palm print, and forearm imprints for analysis.”

Authorities said they received “good video footage” of the person suspected of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk, but have not yet identified them.

“We are not going to release that at this time,” said Utah Department of Public Safety Deputy Commissioner Beau Mason. “We are working through some technologies and some ways to identify this individual.”

Officials noted that the suspect appeared to be “college age” but did not give further details.

“We are confident in our abilities right now, and we would like to move forward in a manner that keeps everyone safe and then moves this process, appropriately,” Mason said.

Read more here.

Deputy Commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety Beau Mason said Thursday that authorities have been working to track the movements of the shooter since 11:52 a.m. Wednesday.

“We have tracked his movements onto the campus, through the stairwells, up to the roof, across the roof to a shooting location,” Mason said. “After the shooting, we were able to track his movements as he moved to the other side of the building, moved off of the building, and fled off of the campus and into a neighborhood.”

Mason said investigators are combing through the neighborhood and contacting witnesses, as well as anyone with doorbell cameras, to identify leads.

Jackson Dean told “Morning in America” he was among the crowd at Charlie Kirk’s event at Utah Valley University.

“I just heard a big loud noise like a popper that you can find on the Fourth of July,” he said. “I looked over at Charlie, and I just saw him fall back in his chair, and everyone was just ducking and running inside.”

Joshua Skule, a former deputy assistant director of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division, said he is not surprised the suspect has eluded custody.

“The chaos that ensued, it would be easy to escape into a crowd like that. The security, while robust around Charlie, was not that of what you’d have at a political event,” Skule said.

According to Skule, the level of security often falls on the speaker.

“There are a lot of factors that go into this and not every event can have, you know 150 police officers there for a private event,” Skule said. “A lot of times that unfortunately falls to the individual speaker, which unfortunately the ugly truth of that, cost matters.”

Jack Posobiec, a contributor for Turning Point USA, said that after the assassination attempt on President Donald Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, he and Charlie Kirk had discussed the likelihood of future attacks.

Posobiec described Kirk as someone who “didn’t have the word stop in his vocabulary.” He added, “Charlie was always fighting for America, and Charlie was always fighting for Christ.”

Across the country, Americans are mourning conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s death. In Arizona, residents placed flowers at Turning Point headquarters.

Vigils are also being held outside the Utah hospital where Kirk was rushed after the shooting, as well as at the state Capitol, where signs read, “We love you Charlie Kirk.”

At the University of Oklahoma, students gathered in solidarity, with organizers saying their message was simple: unity in a time of darkness.

Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance will visit Salt Lake City today to pay respects to the Kirk family, a source familiar with the plans confirmed to NewsNation.

Vance was a close friend of Kirk, posting a lengthy tribute late Wednesday night.

“And now that Charlie is in heaven, I’ll ask him to talk to big man directly on behalf of his family, his friends, and the country he loved so dearly,” Vance wrote on social media. “You ran a good race, my friend.”

The Vances were previously expected to travel to New York City for the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

Police and Utah Valley University initially said Wednesday that a suspect was in custody, but they’ve since been released.

“The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement,” FBI Director Kash Patel wrote. “Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency.”

Another person of interest was also detained last Wednesday for questioning and was later released.

Police said they are reviewing “multiple active crime scenes” and urged the public to share any photos, videos or information that could aid the investigation.

A vigil will be held for Charlie Kirk at the original Turning Point USA location in Lemont, Illinois, at 7 p.m. on Thursday.

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., pushes back after Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker blamed President Trump for fomenting a politically violent culture.

Bill O’Reilly joined “CUOMO” to discuss his thoughts on the assassination of Charlie Kirk and how evil has proliferated throughout America and the world.

Jillian Michaels joined “On Balance” to fondly remember Charlie Kirk, discussing how he embraced her despite their differences.

A map showing where the shooter assassinated popular conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., joined “On Balance” to talk about her efforts to recognize Charlie Kirk in the House on Wednesday.

“Every part of him was rooted in his faith, and that is what inspired me,” Steele told NewsNation.

“I’m blown away by that, and I’m also comforted by that, because I know that that is what is going to make it eventually, that Erika is going to be okay because of her faith in God and where she knows her husband is right now.”

The UVU campus will be closed for the rest of the week. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to visit UVU’s website for further information.

With the suspect still at large, a digital tip line has been set up, with Utah DPS urging the public to provide any information they have.

In the release, Utah DPS said approximately 3,000 people were in attendance to hear Kirk speak. The event was held in the university quad, an outdoor bowl courtyard.

According to the Utah Department of Public Safety, six officers from the Utah Valley University worked the event alongside Kirk’s security detail.

The former ESPN anchor joined “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” to discuss her relationship and memories of Kirk.