Charlie Kirk's shooter arrested or not? Manhunt continues amid confusion and chaos

A swirl of discombobulation gripped the United States' ut after the fateful shot of Charlie Kirk, a conservativist activist and close ally of President Donald Trump, with officials first hailing the arrest of a suspect, only to reverse course later, leaving the gunman still at large as the manhunt pressed on.

"This shooting is still an active investigation," the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a statement, adding it was working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Utah County Attorney’s office, the Utah County Sheriff’s office and local police departments.

After two suspects were taken in and released, "there is an ongoing investigation and manhunt for the shooter", the statement said.

Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot dead while addressing a large outdoor crowd at Utah Valley University in Orem, near Salt Lake City, around 2:20 pm (local time).

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The Department of Public Safety statement said the shooting was "believed to be a targeted attack" by a shooter from the roof of a building, but said it could not give further details “to protect the integrity of our investigation”.

Governor Spencer Cox initially told a press conference that police were interviewing a “person of interest”, while Beau Mason, the Utah Department of Public Safety commissioner, told the same press conference that the perpetrator, suspected of firing a single shot, remained “at large”.

FBI director Kash Patel said an unnamed person had been detained for questioning. That person was later released after questioning, Patel said, meaning the search for the shooter is still ongoing.

The shooting, the latest in a spate of political violence in the US, drew an outpouring of shock and condemnation from Republicans and Democrats alike. Kirk, 31, started Turning Point USA more than a decade ago and had turned it into one of the most influential groups helping to rally young voters to conservative causes. He leaves behind a wife and two young children.

At approximately 12:20 pm, about 20 minutes after Kirk began speaking, a single shot was fired from a building about 200 yards away. A supporter of gun rights, he had just began answering a question on the number of mass shooters in America over the last decade.

Social media videos show attendees running from the area while Kirk’s personal security team appeared to carry him out and into a waiting SUV. He was driven to a local hospital where he later died, police said.

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CCTV camera video shows a person dressed in dark clothing believed to be the suspect, and the shot may have been fired from a rooftop, officials said. No other details were released, including information about what type of weapon may have been used or if it was recovered.

“I want to be very clear, this was a political assassination,” Cox said. “Charlie Kirk was first and foremost a husband and a dad to young children. He was also very much politically involved, and that’s why he was here on campus.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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