The FBI has released the “person of interest” in Wednesday’s assassination of influential conservative activist Charlie Kirk just hours after he was taken into custody.
FBI Director Kash Patel provided the update on social media on Wednesday evening.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and other officials declined to identify the person of interest during a press conference held earlier in the day.
This marks the second person who was detained in connection with Wednesday’s shooting.
Initially, a man named George Zinn was taken into custody. Zinn, however, “did not match the shooting suspect and was not an accurate person of interest,” according to Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety.
Zinn was booked in the county jail for obstruction of justice.
The shooting happened around 12:20 local time, local authorities said during the press conference. The individual, dressed in black, fired one shot from a rooftop in what authorities have described as a “targeted” attack.
“I want to be clear,” the governor said. “This is a political assassination.”
Cox condemned political violence and noted the possible punishment for the assassin.
“I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty here in Utah,” Cox said.
Kirk was speaking to a large crowd at the university when he was shot in the neck. He was taken by a private vehicle to Timpanogos Regional Hospital, where he later passed away, officials confirmed during the press conference.
“At this point, there is no information that would lead us to believe that there is a second person involved,” Cox said.
Six police officers with the Utah Valley Police Department were on scene at the time of the shooting, according to Jeff Long, chief of the Utah Valley Police Department. Long said an estimated 3,000 people attended the event.
The Utah Department of Public Safety and the FBI are leading the criminal investigation into the deadly shooting.
Kirk, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, was the founder and president of the popular conservative student organization Turning Point USA. He leaves behind a wife and two children.
