Conservative influencer Charlie Kirk shot dead, manhunt on for suspect

U.S. conservative activist Charlie Kirk, an influential ally of President Donald Trump, was fatally shot on Wednesday while speaking at a Utah university, sparking a manhunt for a lone sniper who the governor said had carried out a political assassination.

Authorities said they still had no suspect in custody as of Wednesday night, some eight hours after the midday shooting at Utah Valley University campus in Orem, Utah, during an event attended by 3,000 people.

The lone perpetrator suspected of firing the single gunshot that killed Kirk, 31, apparently from a distant rooftop sniper's nest on campus, remained "at large," said Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, at a news conference four hours later.

State police issued a statement on Wednesday night saying that two men had been detained and one was interrogated by law enforcement, but both were subsequently released.

"There are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals," the statement said. "There is an ongoing investigation and manhunt for the shooter."


Reuters