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(OREM, Utah) — A suspect has been arrested in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, officials announced Friday.

Tyler Robinson was allegedly the person who shot and killed Kirk on Wednesday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox confirmed at a press conference in Utah on Friday.

“We got him,” Cox said at a press conference Friday.

The press conference came soon after President Donald Trump confirmed they had the suspected shooter in custody.

“I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him in custody,” Trump said on “Fox & Friends” earlier Friday morning.

He later added, “Subject to change but the facts are the facts we have the person that we think is the person we’re looking for.”

Trump said he was told just five minutes before he went on air for the prescheduled interview that someone was in custody.

“Essentially, somebody that was very close to him turned him in,” Trump said.

Trump said the father of the suspect went to authorities and convinced the son “and this is it,” the president said.

The father of the suspect identified his son as the person being sought by police in photographs distributed by authorities, according to sources.

The father told his son to turn himself in, sources said. The son initially said no, but later changed his mind.

Trump reiterated in the interview that the shooter should get the death penalty.

“In Utah, you have death penalty, and a good governor there, I have gotten to know him,” Trump said of Gov. Spencer Cox. “The governor is intent on the death penalty in this case and he should be.”

In the latest video of the suspect, which was played during a news conference with state and federal officials Thursday evening, the apparent gunman can be seen climbing down from the roof of a building on the campus of Utah Valley University where authorities believe he fired the fatal shot and fled rom the scene.

The FBI said it was offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person responsible for Kirk’s murder.

Utah authorities released photos of the person of interest in the shooting on Thursday in which the individual can be seen walking up the stairs to the top of the building where the shooting took place while carrying a black backpack and wearing a shirt with what appeared to be an American flag print on it.

So far authorities have received more than 7,000 tips and leads and completed some 200 interviews, Cox said Thursday.

Amid the manhunt for the shooter, officials said Thursday they are working “around the clock” to locate the person of interest, who is believed to be college-aged.

The FBI also said Thursday it has recovered what is believed to be the weapon used in the deadly shooting. A “high-powered bolt action rifle” was recovered in a wooded area near where the shooting took place, according to Salt Lake City FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls.

The rifle is an older model imported Mauser .30-06 caliber bolt action rifle wrapped in a towel, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News. The location of the firearm appears to match the suspect’s route of travel, the sources said.

The spent cartridge was still chambered and three unspent cartridges contained wording on them expressing what some law enforcement officials described as “transgender and anti-fascist” writing, according to preliminary information shared with agencies. It’s unclear what that means and authorities are still working to determine the meaning or whether the markings were intended as misdirection for investigators.

Officials said that at 11:52 a.m. on Wednesday, the suspect arrived on the Orem campus and then proceeded to travel through the stairwells up to the roof of a building near the where the outdoors event was taking place, before the shooter fired down at Kirk, Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said on Thursday.

Kirk was hit by a single shot at approximately 12:20 p.m. and taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.

After the shooting, the suspected shooter traveled to the other side of the building, jumped off and fled off-campus into a neighborhood, Mason said. Officials are working through nearby neighborhoods, contacting people with doorbell cameras and speaking to witnesses to identify any leads, Mason said.

“I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this, we will find you. We will try you, and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law,” Cox said during a press briefing Wednesday, calling the fatal shooting a “political assassination.”

He said state officials are already moving to pursue the death penalty if the case goes to trial.

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(NEW YORK) — College campuses across America are experiencing an epidemic of hoax calls about bogus shootings and other emergencies following the shooting death of Charlie Kirk this week.

These calls — known as swatting — panicked at least a dozen schools as police rush to campuses, chasing phantom threats with many of them being racially motivated and targeting historically Black colleges and universities.

Activities froze in places like Virginia State University after a swatting call and at Southern University in Louisiana, where classes have already been cancelled through the weekend, another swatting call put the entire campus on high alert.

Police say they must respond to these hoax calls about campus shootings as if they are real as the shootings become more and more common.

The concern, authorities say, is twofold. Swatting wastes law enforcement resources but also ends up sending heavily armed officers into student spaces with guns drawn, a problem highlighted just this week when a midshipman at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, was shot during a swatting response and had to be flown by helicopter to the hospital.

While these hoaxes mostly ended up being false alarms, experts note that these types of hoaxes are not only a serious crime with substantial penalties for those involved but can also put first responders and bystanders at risk.

“Swatting is not a benign endeavor. Law enforcement is taking it seriously…when they are identified, they are arresting them and prosecuting them,” said John Cohen, an ABC News contributor and a former acting undersecretary at the Department of Homeland Security.

Bob Boyce, an ABC News contributor and retired NYPD chief of detectives, said these calls can range from a “simple prank” to revenge, or even a pursuit of notoriety. But regardless of the motive, there are serious penalties at stake for those placing these swatting calls, Boyce said.

Federal charges can include false information and hoaxes; which could lead to up to five years in prison with a “substantial fine;” interstate transmission of threat; which could lead to up to 20 years in jail if there is an injury involved; and wire fraud, which constitutes a “substantial penalty, incarceration and fines,” Boyce said.

In a statement to ABC News last month, the FBI said they are aware of the recent swatting incidents and are “working with our law enforcement partners.”

“The FBI is seeing an increase in swatting events across the country, and we take potential hoax threats very seriously because it puts innocent people at risk. Knowingly providing false information to emergency service agencies about a possible threat to life drains law enforcement resources, costs thousands of dollars, and, most importantly, puts innocent people at risk,” the agency said.

ABC News’ Megan Forrester contributed to this report.

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(FORT PIERCE, Fla.) — Jurors in the criminal trial of the man accused of trying to assassinate Donald Trump on his golf course last year are set to hear testimony Friday from five law enforcement witnesses, concluding a chaotic start to the case that could send the alleged assassin to prison for the rest of his life.  

While prosecutors originally estimated needing about three weeks to conclude their case against 59-year-old Ryan Routh, they signaled on Thursday that their case might conclude sooner than planned because of the quick pace of the first few witnesses’ testimony.

Routh, who is representing himself despite not being a lawyer or having any legal training, has not yet objected to any of the questions posed by prosecutors during the direct examination of witnesses, and his cross-examinations have been usually short.

“I’m very simple-minded, yes,” Routh told U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon Thursday when she inquired about his plans to cross-examine future witnesses.

Routh has been rebuked several times by Cannon after making unexpected and off-topic comments. During opening statements Thursday, Routh launched into a speech about the origin of the human species, global conflicts, and his political grievances, before the judge cut him off after about six minutes for making arguments that she said have “absolutely nothing to do with the evidence in this case.”

Jurors at the trial in Fort Pierce, Florida, heard Thursday from the Secret Service agent who confronted an armed Routh on the golf course before Routh fled, and a witness who identified Routh to police.

Prosecutors allege that Routh put together a methodical plan — including purchasing a military-grade weapon, researching Trump’s movements, and utilizing a dozen burner phones — to kill Trump based on political grievances.

Hiding in the bushes of Trump’s Palm Beach golf course and armed with a rifle, Routh allegedly came within a few hundred yards of the then-presidential nominee before a Secret Service agent spotted his rifle poking out of the tree line.

Routh allegedly fled the scene but was later arrested by a local sheriff’s office on a nearby interstate.

He faces five criminal charges, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, using a firearm in furtherance of a crime, assaulting a federal officer, possessing a firearm as a felon, and using a gun with a defaced serial number.

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(EVERGREEN, Colo.) — A 16-year-old student — who authorities say opened fire at his Colorado high school on Wednesday, wounding two classmates and then turning the gun on himself — was believed to be “radicalized by some extremist network,” officials with the local sheriff’s office said.

The gunfire at Evergreen High School broke out at about 12:24 p.m. local time, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

Three students were taken to the hospital in critical condition following the gunfire, including the suspected shooter, who was injured by a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the sheriff’s office said.

The sheriff’s office confirmed the suspect died in a post on social media Wednesday evening.

The suspect was identified as 16-year-old Desmond Holly, Jefferson County Sheriff officials said during a press conference on Thursday. An image of the shooter was also released by officials.

Officials determined the weapon was a revolver that was “fired a lot.” Shots could be seen fired at windows and lockers, authorities said on Thursday.

The suspect allegedly went through the school trying to “find new targets,” but came upon “roadblocks” as doors were locked and he could not keep shooting victims, the sheriff’s department said.

While authorities are still looking into the shooter’s motive, they believe he was “radicalized by some extremist network,” and that he had a “mission,” officials said. Authorities said they are trying to better understand that network, and are searching his phone, home and locker to learn more on who he was communicating with before the shooting.

The sheriff’s office said on Thursday “no one has been released” from the hospital, despite earlier reports from hospital officials saying one of the injured had been released. 

Previously, authorities said on Wednesday a fourth student was also transported to the hospital with an unknown injury, but the sheriff’s office said on Thursday they “think it’s just three” who were injured.

The families of the victims are expected to release photos and statements on Thursday, officials said.

In a statement on Wednesday, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said he was “devastated” by the shooting.

“My heart goes out to the victims and their families as they grapple with this senseless act of violence,” Polis said.

After the shooting, the school was placed in a lockdown and officials swept the campus.

“This is the scariest thing you’d think could ever happen,” said Jefferson County sheriff spokesperson Jacki Kelley at a news conference on Wednesday.

“Students and staff were amazing. They did their job and they did it well. Lives were saved yesterday,” Kelli said on Thursday.

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(NEW YORK) — Multiple historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are on lockdown after receiving potential threats on Thursday, including Alabama State University, Virginia State University, Hampton University in Virginia, Southern University in Louisiana, and Clark Atlanta University in Georgia.

Spelman College, located near Clark Atlanta University, has also implemented shelter-in-place protocols as a precautionary measure due to its proximity.

Hampton University ceased all “nonessential” activity, including athletic events, on Thursday for the remainder of the day and Friday, according to the school’s website.

In a post on the Virginia State University Facebook page, the school said, “out of an abundance of caution, VSU remains on lockdown.”

Southern University in Louisiana is on lockdown, according to the school’s post on X. The school said the lockdown applies to its entire Baton Rouge landmass, which includes its Law Center. The community is encouraged to “shelter in place until further notice.”

ABC News obtained an email that was sent to the Virginia State University community on Thursday. In the message, VSU students, faculty and staff are asked to remain on lockdown while campus police, and local, state and federal law enforcement investigate the credibility of the threat that was received.

According to the email, no injuries have been reported, outdoor movement has been limited to essential activities, classes and extra-curricular activities have been canceled for the afternoon, and additional security personnel are monitoring VSU locations.

The lockdown measures come in the wake of the shooting at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, where 31-year-old right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk was killed at his speaking engagement on campus.

School officials at Hampton and Alabama State confirmed to ABC News that there have been no physical incidents toward students and faculty. It is unclear what type of threat was made to the schools at this time. The schools stressed “if you see something, say something,” asking for their communities to alert the authorities to any suspicious activity.

The alleged threats follow a history of threats to HBCUs in the past several years. In 2022, multiple schools received anonymous bomb threats, causing shelter-in-place notices or evacuations of the majority-Black institutions.

However, no real bombs were found after each incident. At the time, the FBI identified one juvenile believed to be responsible for a “majority” of the “racially motivated” threats.

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(SALT LAKE CITY) — The FBI has released images of a person of interest sought in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

“We are asking for the public’s help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University,” the FBI’s Salt Lake City office said on X on Thursday while sharing two images of the individual, who is wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses and was captured in a stairwell in one of them.

The FBI said it is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person responsible for Kirk’s murder.

The manhunt for the suspect, who is believed to be college-aged, continues, with officials working “around the clock” to locate the individual, officials said during a press conference on Thursday.

The FBI also said Thursday it has recovered what is believed to be the weapon used in the deadly shooting. A “high-powered bolt action rifle,” which officials believe was the weapon used in the shooting, was recovered in a wooded area near where the shooting took place, according to Salt Lake City FBI Special Agent Robert Bohls.

The rifle is an older model imported Mauser .30-06 caliber bolt action rifle wrapped in a towel, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News. The location of the firearm appears to match the suspect’s route of travel, the sources said.

The spent cartridge was still chambered and three unspent cartridges contained wording on them expressing what some law enforcement officials described as “transgender and anti-fascist” writing, according to preliminary information shared with agencies. It’s unclear what that means and authorities are still working to determine the meaning.

The firearm and ammunition have been taken by the FBI for DNA analysis and fingerprint impressions. Upon completion of forensics, the firearm will be disassembled for additional importer information.

Tracking the shooter’s movements

Officials said they have been able to track the movements of the shooter and have “good” video footage of the individual, Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said on Thursday. The video footage will not be released to the public at this time, Mason said.

At 11:52 a.m. on Wednesday, the suspect arrived on the Orem campus and then proceeded to travel through the stairwells up to the roof of a building near the where the outdoors event was taking place, before the suspect fired down at Kirk, Mason said.

Kirk was hit by a single shot at approximately 12:20 p.m. and taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.

After the shooting, the suspect traveled to the other side of building, jumped off and fled off-campus into a neighborhood, Mason said. Officials are working through nearby neighborhoods, contacting people with doorbell cameras and speaking to witnesses to identify any leads, Mason said.

Along with recovering the weapon, Bohls said investigators have also collected a footwear impression, palm print and forearm imprints for analysis.

Officials emphasized the shooting was a “targeted” attack and they are “exhausting every lead.”

“We will not stand for what happened yesterday,” Mason said. “We are investing everything we have into this and we will catch this individual.”

The FBI asked for tips from the public as the manhunt for the perpetrator continues, urging anyone with information, photos or video from the incident to share it with investigators.

Trump blames political rhetoric

As the search for the suspect continued, President Donald Trump and prominent MAGA personalities sought to tie the killing to Democratic political rhetoric.

In a video posted to social media on Wednesday, Trump said, “It’s a long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree.”

“For years, those on the radical Left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals,” he added. “This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.”

Trump’s son Eric, meanwhile, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity he was “sick and tired of seeing the bullets — they are only going one way.”

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox got emotional Wednesday as he delivered a message mentioning recent attacks on both Democrats and Republicans.

“Our nation is broken,” Cox said. “We’ve had political assassinations recently in Minnesota. We had an attempted assassination on the governor of Pennsylvania. And we had an attempted assassination on a presidential candidate and former president of the United States — and now current president of the United States. Nothing I say can unite us as a country. Nothing I can say right now can fix what is broken. Nothing I can say can bring back Charlie Kirk. Our hearts are broken.”

Controversial campus visit

Kirk — a 31-year-old father of two — was considered a confidant of Trump and highly influential in the conservative youth movement.

He founded the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA in 2012 at the age of 18, and in the 2024 elections was credited with building significant support for Trump among young voters.

The Utah event was expected to include a “prove me wrong” table, according to the tour’s website.

Ahead of the conservative political activist’s visit to Utah Valley University, some students started an online petition asking university administrators to stop him from coming.

Though Kirk’s visit was controversial on campus, police were tracking no specific or credible threats before the fatal shooting, Utah law enforcement sources told ABC News.

More than 3,000 people were estimated to be at the event, according to the university’s police chief, Jeff Long. There were six police officers, along with Kirk’s private security, according to Long.

UVU will be closed until Sept. 14, according to a notice posted on the university’s website.

One suspect sought

There is no evidence that anyone else was involved, according to authorities.

The Utah Department of Public of Safety said in an update Wednesday night that two people were initially taken into custody after the shooting but later released.

The first was released and later charged with obstruction by university police. The second person was taken into custody and released after an “interrogation” by law enforcement, the department said.

Utah authorities said “there are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals.”

Tributes from both parties

Trump was among those who paid tribute to Kirk.

“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump said on social media. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”

“It’s horrific. It’s one of the most horrible things I’ve ever seen,” Trump told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl.

“He was a great guy,” Trump said. “He was a good man. He was an incredible guy. Nobody like him.”

Trump ordered all American flags throughout the country to be lowered to half-staff through Sunday evening in Kirk’s honor. On Thursday, he also announced he will posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, saying he was a “giant of his generation.”

Cox called the fatal shooting a “political assassination.”

“Those responsible will be held fully accountable. Violence has no place in our public life. Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act,” he said on X following the attack.

Vice President JD Vance called Kirk “a genuinely good guy and a young father” while urging prayers in the aftermath of the shooting.

Condemnation came from both sides of the political spectrum.

“There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now,” Former President Joe Biden said. “Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirk’s family and loved ones.”

“The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying and this growing type of unconscionable violence cannot be allowed in our society,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said on X.

Fellow Democratic governor, California’s Gavin Newsom, said on X that the “attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.”

ABC News’ Aaron Katersky, Luke Barr, Josh Margolin, Ivan Pereira, Lalee Ibssa, Isabella Murray, Katherine Faulders, Jack Date, Chris Looft and Helena Skinner contributed to this report.

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(NEW YORK) — Ryan Routh, who is representing himself at his trial on charges of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump on his golf course last year, was cut off by the judge part way through his opening statement Thursday.

Routh, who is not a lawyer and has no legal education, launched into a speech about the origin of the human species, global conflicts, and his political grievances, before U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon cut him off after about six minutes for making arguments that she said have “absolutely nothing to do with the evidence in this case.”

“You do not have an unlimited license to go forward to make a mockery of the dignity of this courtroom,” Judge Cannon said.

Routh began his opening by contemplating how humans have gotten “derailed and so full of hate.”

“Modern trials seem to eliminate all that is human,” he told the jurors as he stood before the jury box. “What is in the heart and mind is all that matters.”

Routh then criticized U.S. foreign policy for standing by while, he said, “Putin has slaughtered 1.5 million” and “Netanyahu has killed 60,000” — arguing that the U.S. “supports his genocide.”

He also appeared to criticize Trump for “trading a war for an election” and moving the U.S. embassy in Israel.

After Judge Cannon criticized Routh for going off topic, Routh restarted his opening to encourage jurors to focus on his intent.

“This case hangs on intent. What is in one’s heart,” he said before nearly breaking into tears.

“This case means absolutely nothing. A life has been lived to the fullest,” he said before Cannon cut him off again.

Prosecutors allege that Routh put together a methodical plan — including purchasing a military-grade weapon, researching Trump’s movements, and utilizing a dozen burner phones — to kill Trump based on political grievances.

Hiding in the bushes of Trump’s Palm Beach golf course and armed with a rifle, Routh allegedly came within a few hundred yards of the then-presidential nominee before a Secret Service agent spotted his rifle poking out of the tree line.

Routh allegedly fled the scene but was later arrested by a local sheriff’s office on a nearby interstate.

Nearly a year after the failed assassination attempt, Routh now faces five criminal counts that risk sending him to prison for the rest of his life. Despite lacking any legal experience, Routh dismissed his lawyers earlier this year and intends to defend himself at trial.

“I will be representing myself moving forward; It was ridiculous from the outset to consider a random stranger that knows nothing of who I am to speak for me,” Routh told U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in a July letter. “I am so sorry, I know this makes your life harder.”

Routh’s self-representation created some issues during the three days of jury selection earlier this week. Judge Cannon — who previously oversaw and dismissed one of Trump’s criminal cases — refused to use many of his proposed jury questions, deeming them too “political.”

Among other subjects, Routh had proposed asking jurors about their stance on Palestine and Ukraine, and about Trump’s proposed acquisition of Greenland.

Routh has said in court filings that he plans to defend himself by focusing on his self-described peaceful nature and his care for humanity, in part by calling to the stand his son and multiple friends to testify about his character.

Judge Cannon has barred him from trying to argue that his alleged actions were justified, that he did not intend to carry out the assassination, or that his actions were protected by First Amendment rights.

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(SALT LAKE CITY) — The FBI said it has recovered what is believed to be the weapon used in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, the founder of the conservative youth activist organization Turning Point USA, during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

A “high-powered bolt action rifle,” which officials believe was the weapon used in the shooting, was recovered in a wooded area near where the shooting took place, according to Salt Lake City FBI Special Agent Robert Bohls.

The manhunt for the suspect, who is believed to be college-aged, continues, with officials working “around the clock” to locate the individual, officials said during a press conference on Thursday.

The FBI asked for tips from the public as the manhunt for the perpetrator continued, urging anyone with information, photos and video from the incident to share it with investigators.

FBI Director Kash Patel said earlier the agency “stands in full support of the ongoing response and investigation.”

UVU will be closed until Sept. 14, according to a notice posted on the university’s website.

As the search for the suspect continued, President Donald Trump and prominent MAGA personalities sought to tie the killing to Democratic political rhetoric.

In a video posted to social media, Trump said, “It’s a long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree.”

“For years, those on the radical Left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals,” he added. “This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now.”

Trump’s son Eric, meanwhile, told Fox News’ Sean Hannity he was “sick and tired of seeing the bullets — they are only going one way.”

Controversial campus visit

Kirk — a 31-year-old father of two — was considered a confidant of Trump and highly influential in the conservative youth movement.

He founded the conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA in 2012 at the age of 18, and in the 2024 elections was credited with building significant support for Trump among young voters.

He was hit by a single shot during the outdoors event at the university’s Orem campus shortly after noon. Kirk was taken to hospital but was later pronounced dead.

The Utah event was expected to include a “prove me wrong” table, according to the tour’s website.

Ahead of Kirk’s visit to Utah Valley University, some students started an online petition asking university administrators to stop him from coming.

Though Kirk’s visit was controversial on campus, police were tracking no specific or credible threats before the fatal shooting, Utah law enforcement sources told ABC News.

More than 3,000 people were estimated to be at the event, according to the university’s police chief, Jeff Long. There were six police officers, along with Kirk’s private security, according to Long.

Ongoing manhunt

Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason called the shooting a “targeted attack,” and said the scene is a “very large area.”

Mason said the “only information” they have on the possible shooter was taken from CCTV on campus, and that the person was dressed in all dark clothing. The shot was fired on campus from a “longer distance,” potentially from a roof, he said.

There is no evidence that anyone else was involved, according to authorities.

Authorities are combing through video from the scene, including this video which appears to show a person on the roof immediately following the shooting, according to sources familiar with the ongoing investigation. 

During a press conference yesterday, authorities said the shot came “potentially from a roof, yes. A longer distance shot from a roof.” 

Separately, authorities said they are also looking at security camera video depicting someone dressed in all dark clothing and that “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,” according to a statement from law enforcement officials last night. 

The FBI has established a digital media tip line for the public to provide any tips to investigators, including photos or video of the incident.

Salt Lake City FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls said the investigation is in the early stages.

“We are following all the leads and all the evidence,” he said during the press briefing on Wednesday.

The Utah Department of Public of Safety said in an update Wednesday night that two people were initially taken into custody after the shooting but later released.

The first was released and later charged with obstruction by university police. The second person was taken into custody and released after an “interrogation” by law enforcement, the department said.

Utah authorities said “there are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals.”

Tributes from both parties

Trump was among those who paid tribute to Kirk.

“The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump said on social media. “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”

“It’s horrific. It’s one of the most horrible things I’ve ever seen,” Trump told ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl.

“He was a great guy,” Trump said. “He was a good man. He was an incredible guy. Nobody like him.”

Trump ordered all American flags throughout the country to be lowered to half-staff through Sunday evening in Kirk’s honor.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called the fatal shooting a “political assassination.”

Vice President JD Vance called Kirk “a genuinely good guy and a young father” while urging prayers in the aftermath of the shooting.

Cox said earlier he was being briefed “following the violence directed at Charlie Kirk” during the conservative political activist’s visit to the campus.

“Those responsible will be held fully accountable. Violence has no place in our public life. Americans of every political persuasion must unite in condemning this act,” he said on X.

Condemnation came from both sides of the political spectrum.

“There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now,” Former President Joe Biden said. “Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirk’s family and loved ones.”

“The attack on Charlie Kirk is horrifying and this growing type of unconscionable violence cannot be allowed in our society,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, said on X.

Fellow Democratic governor, California’s Gavin Newsom, said on X that the “attack on Charlie Kirk is disgusting, vile, and reprehensible. In the United States of America, we must reject political violence in EVERY form.”

ABC News’ Aaron Katersky, Ivan Pereira, Lalee Ibssa, Isabella Murray, Katherine Faulders, Jack Date, Chris Looft and Helena Skinner contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2025, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Opening statements are set to begin Thursday in the criminal trial of Ryan Routh, the man accused of attempting to assassinate Donald Trump on his golf course last year.

With instances of political violence on the rise, the trial is expected to revisit one of the most high-profile instances of alleged violence directed at Trump in the waning days of the 2024 election.

Prosecutors allege that Routh put together a methodical plan — including purchasing a military-grade weapon, researching Trump’s movements, and utilizing a dozen burner phones — to kill Trump based on political grievances.

Hiding in the bushes of Trump’s Palm Beach golf course and armed with a rifle, Routh allegedly came within a few hundred yards of the then-presidential nominee before a Secret Service agent spotted his rifle poking out of the tree line.

Routh allegedly fled the scene but was later arrested by a local sheriff’s office on a nearby interstate.

Nearly a year after the failed assassination attempt, Routh now faces five criminal counts that risk sending him to prison for the rest of his life. Despite lacking any legal education or experience, Routh dismissed his lawyers earlier this year and intends to defend himself at trial.

“I will be representing myself moving forward; It was ridiculous from the outset to consider a random stranger that knows nothing of who I am to speak for me,” Routh told U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in a July letter. “I am so sorry, I know this makes your life harder.”

Routh’s self-representation created some issues during the three days of jury selection earlier this week. Judge Cannon — who previously oversaw and dismissed one of Trump’s criminal cases — refused to use many of his proposed jury questions, deeming them too “political.”

Among other subjects, Routh had proposed asking jurors about their stance on Palestine and Ukraine, and about Trump’s proposed acquisition of Greenland.

Routh has said in court filings that he plans to defend himself by focusing on his self-described peaceful nature and his care for humanity, in part by calling to the stand his son and multiple friends to testify about his character.

Judge Cannon has barred him from trying to argue that his alleged actions were justified, that he did not intend to carry out the assassination, or that his actions were protected by First Amendment rights.

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(NEW YORK) — Osama bin Laden had made targeting the United States a top priority of his al-Qaida terrorist organization. Al-Qaida translates from Arabic as “the base” – a base that bin Laden hoped to use to influence Muslims around the world to oppose Western influences and states and to establish fundamentalist Islamic regimes. Bin Laden’s motives were rooted in his extremist interpretation of Islamic theology, resentment over U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, and a desire to overthrow the existing world order.

The “base” was so-called due to it being a centralized, hierarchical organization that provided funding, training and logistical support to terrorism worldwide, including for the so-called “Planes Operation” of Sept. 11, 2001.

In order to embolden and support his organization, bin Laden often videotaped himself with messages aimed at his target audience, established training centers in Afghanistan, had an expansive funding network that included wealthy individuals, couriers, mosques and other complex ways to raise funds.

Bin Laden, through the al-Qaida terrorist organization, targeted the United States for nearly a decade before the 9/11 attacks in 2001, utilizing this large and expansive infrastructure. While al-Qaida’s 1998 attacks against U.S. embassies in Africa and the 2000 attack against the U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer USS Cole were successful, the organization’s largest operation was the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks against the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon, and the thwarted attack on Washington, D.C., that ended with the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pa. – all of which included recruiting and training the nineteen terrorist operatives, funding their travel and expenses, and time.

It took bin Laden almost two years to put together the resources and training necessary for those attacks 24 years ago – something that today could be done almost instantly.

Bin Laden and the 9/11 attacks lacked something that present-day terrorists, criminals and violent extremists have ready access to: the internet and, specifically, the dark web. After the 9/11 attacks, as the United States was ramping up to attack al-Qaida, “the base” and affiliate organizations began moving to a more decentralized and incentivized form of terrorism and violence.

Terrorists expanded their use of the internet for a wide range of activities, including planning attacks, radicalization and recruitment, propaganda dissemination, and fundraising. While the internet facilitates covert planning through tools like encrypted messages, it also serves as a platform for psychological warfare, spreading disinformation and images to incite fear. This online presence includes social media platforms used for propaganda, communication and recruitment, creating a challenge for governments and platforms alike to manage the spread of extremist content in hopes of preventing potential violence.

In a 2004 study, the United States Institute of Peace said that hundreds of terrorist groups had migrated online, utilizing a tool meant for better communication for often nefarious purposes. Nearly 20 years later, a 2022 study titled “Terrorism and the internet: How dangerous is online radicalization?” highlighted how online radicalization had become a clear threat that can metastasize in dark corners, often unnoticed.

The main use of the internet by these terrorist groups – incentivizing and radicalizing supporters and stoking fear with propaganda – is something bin Laden would have had to do with videotapes played by the news. Likewise, the internet has made fundraising much easier with the use of online payment methods, which are easy to set up and difficult to trace. And now, with the advent of generative artificial intelligence (AI), terrorists have yet another tool at their disposal.

According to a U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security hearing background advisory earlier this year, “GenAI is a rapidly emerging technology that can produce numerous kinds of content, such as text, images, or audio, when prompted by a user. Foreign terrorist organizations are actively seeking ways to exploit GenAI to support a variety of violent extremist tactics, techniques, and procedures, such as using AI-powered chatbots, to interact with potential recruits.”

“Foreign cloud-based mobile and desktop messaging applications like TikTok and Telegram have allowed their platforms to become a breeding ground for radical extremism,” the advisory continued. Essentially, terrorist groups have been able to weaponize the internet and incite violence in ways they couldn’t have imagined on Sept. 11.

While terrorism isn’t new, the use of the internet, and now AI, magnifies the capabilities and reach of terrorist groups that used to rely on scattered notes and videotapes to conduct their business. It seems reasonable to assume that if bin Laden had had access to the technologies of today, the 9/11 attacks may have been precursors to additional and more frequent deadly attacks.

The threats we face today are more complex, borderless, and technologically advanced than ever before. Counterterrorism strategies must continue to adapt to meet this evolving battleground, leveraging not only military and intelligence tools but also public-private partnerships with tech platforms, AI monitoring, and global diplomacy.

The legacy of 9/11 must be more than remembrance – it must be vigilance. As we honor the nearly 3,000 lives lost that day, and those first responders who have died in the years since, we must remain resolute in facing the ever-changing face of extremism, now armed with digital weapons and invisible armies.

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