NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Utah authorities have a person of interest in custody in the shooting of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk Wednesday afternoon, according to state and federal officials. Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two, died from his injuries.
“The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody,” FBI Director Kash Patel tweeted Wednesday. “Thank you to the local and state authorities in Utah for your partnership with @fbi.”
A school spokeswoman initially said campus police had a suspect in custody but later reversed course.
The school had more than 46,000 students as of last fall. Campus authorities ordered a lockdown, have been escorting people to safety and are urging anyone still on school grounds to call them to be escorted to safety.
CHARLIE KIRK, TURNING POINT USA FOUNDER, DEAD AT 31 AFTER UTAH CAMPUS SHOOTING
The investigation remains ongoing and authorities are asking anyone with information to come forward.
In an emotional press conference, Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox condemned political assassinations of all types, however, he hinted at serious consequences for the crime.
“Now, we have a person of interest in custody,” he said. The investigation is ongoing, but I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this. We will find you. We will try to you, and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law. And I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty here in the state of Utah.”
CHARLIE KIRK SHOT AT UTAH EVENT
Orem authorities said a shelter-in-place order was in effect. An organizer for the event told Fox News Digital many businesses in Orem and Provo were either closed or on lockdown.
A single gunshot rang out around 12:20 p.m. local time, she said, about 20 minutes into a speech from Kirk on campus.
Graphic video shows he was struck before panic ripples through the large crowd in attendance, with people screaming and running for cover. Other videos appear to show someone moving on the rooftop of a building across from where Kirk was fatally struck.
An event organizer told Fox News Digital that 1,400 people RVSP’ed for the event. The organizer said that many people came from out of the state to see Kirk speak.
“We had a speaker, Charlie Kirk, who was invited by a student group, Turning Point USA, who was speaking on campus today at noon,” Traenor said in a statement. “At about 12:20 shots were fired from a building about 200 yards from the speaker. To the best of our knowledge, the individual was hit and was taken away immediately by his security personnel.”
Authorities locked down the campus and canceled classes for the rest of the day. They told people on school grounds to shelter in place and said they were going door-to-door to escort people off campus. Roads in and out were closed.
“We ask for your patience throughout this process,” the school said in a statement. “We are providing updates as best as possible. This is an ongoing and unfolding event.”
