Heavily armed police are searching door-to-door for the suspect who fatally shot influential conservative and Donald Trump activist, Charlie Kirk, during a busy event at Utah Valley University.
The campus remains in lockdown as police roam the area searching for the shooter who fired a single shot, hitting Kirk in the neck as he was speaking at the outdoor student event.
The 31-year-old founded Turning Point USA, a group that seeks to spread conservative ideas on American campuses, when he was still a teenager.
President Donald Trump called Kirk a patriot and said his death was a “dark moment for America,” Trump said.
In a video post, Trump said he is “filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk”.
Officials say only six police officers were working security at the event – which attracted at least 3,000 people to the outdoor quad – along with private security hired by Kirk.
No one else was shot at the event, and video shows students running for cover as the gunshot rang out at 12:20 local time (18:20 GMT).
Officials on Wednesday gave conflicting answers about whether the suspect, who dressed in all black and is believed to have fired from a nearby rooftop, had been caught.
Police confirmed that two people were taken into custody for interrogation, but released after finding “there are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals”.
One man, George Zinn, was released after being charged with obstruction of justice. The other suspect was released with no charges filed.
“There is an ongoing investigation and manhunt for the shooter,” the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a statement on Wednesday night.
They said they believed the incident was a “targeted attack”.
“The shooter is believed to have fired from the roof of a building down to the location of the public event in the student courtyard.”
Hours after the shooting, people gathered near the locked-down campus, hoping to retrieve vehicles and other possessions they left behind as they fled.
Police are roaming the area, barring anyone from entering the campus as the search for the gunman intensifies.
BBC Verify has confirmed the authenticity of several videos of the shooting which have been posted online.
One video shows students crowded around a white tent emblazoned with the words, “THE AMERICAN COMEBACK” and “PROVE ME WRONG”.
Kirk can be seen sitting alone under the tent with several others standing nearby.
In another video verified by the BBC, Kirk is seen speaking at the rally before a single gunshot is heard.
He then appears to jolt backwards before the camera pans away and the crowd begins to run in panic.
Kirk had been discussing gun violence in the US in the moments before he was shot.
“Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last ten years?” one audience member asks him.
“Counting or not counting gang violence,” he responds, before the shot rings out.
Witnesses described their horror at realising that Kirk had been shot.
“It’s a little surreal. Especially then. It felt like a dream,” a first-year student named Gavin told CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
“Everyone started praying… Then, we started running.”
BBC
