The Shots of Orem - Verified Video of the Perpetrator and Wanted Photos - FBI Continues to Search for Charlie Kirk’s Killer

The FBI has just released images of a “person of interest” sought in connection with the murder of Charlie Kirk. The 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA was shot dead from a rooftop on the campus of Utah Valley University from a distance of about 130 meters on Wednesday. According to authorities, the shooter arrived on campus at 11:52 a.m., used stairwells to reach the roof, and fired a single fatal shot at 12:20 p.m. before jumping from the roof and fleeing into a residential area. Investigators have recovered a Mauser bolt-action rifle as the suspected murder weapon, as well as palm and forearm prints, good video material, and a shoe print. He fired a single shot from an old Mauser chambered in .30-06, a model that was used by the Wehrmacht during World War II and has remained popular among hunters for decades. The projectile struck Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, in the neck. A few minutes later, he was dead. The weapon was later found in a nearby wooded area, with an empty casing in the chamber. Investigators secured palm and forearm prints and a shoe print, along with video footage showing the man climbing onto the roof and jumping down after the shooting. The perpetrator fled through an adjacent residential neighborhood and has not been captured to this day.

The precision of the shot is striking. A bolt-action rifle like the Mauser forces the shooter to aim absolutely steadily - every movement, every breath can influence the hit. The neck is an extremely small target, only a few centimeters across at about 130 meters. Even trained shooters often miss such shots under stress. Whoever fired this shot not only had to have experience with a bolt-action rifle but also the nerves to deliver a single fatal hit at that distance. This suggests a person who is highly skilled - whether as a hunter, sport shooter, or with a military background.

In addition, a Mauser of this type cannot simply be carried in full length across a busy campus without attracting attention. It was probably transported disassembled - the barrel separated from the stock, the bolt removed - and only assembled on the roof. For a trained shooter, this assembly takes only a few minutes but requires tools, calm, and preparation. This also suggests that this was a planned and logistically precise act, not a spontaneous attack.

The weapon recovered is an old Mauser chambered in .30-06 - a classic bolt-action rifle in which the shooter must operate the bolt by hand after each shot. By lifting, pulling back, and pushing forward the bolt handle, the empty casing is ejected and a new cartridge is fed from the magazine into the chamber. Only then can the shooter fire again. This design makes the Mauser slower than a semi-automatic rifle but provides high precision and reliability, which is why it is still popular among hunters and sport shooters today.

Robert Bohls, head of the FBI office in Salt Lake City, confirmed that it was a highly precise bolt-action rifle. One shot, no second attempt, no shaking - at this distance a fatal hit requires absolute calm and control. Whether the perpetrator was military-trained or self-taught remains unclear. Utah security chief Beau Mason stated that they will only release the man’s face if identification fails through other means. For him, it is clear that the shooter was able to move inconspicuously on campus because he looked like a student. While investigators piece together clue after clue, anger is erupting in Washington and on social media. President Trump used the September 11 memorial ceremony at the Pentagon to blame the act on the “radical left,” announced that Kirk would be posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and promised to hold “every single person who contributed to this atrocity” accountable. In the House of Representatives, the attempt at a moment of silence ended in partisan bickering. Republicans like Nancy Mace are calling for the return of the death penalty, others are speaking of war. Governor Spencer Cox, who stands for a conciliatory conservatism, called for restraint and reminded that Democrats have also been targets of political violence. His words were an appeal that hardly found an audience in the heated atmosphere.

Kirk’s death has shaken the American right. He was not only a figure of US conservatism but an activist with international reach, who recently spoke to cheering supporters in Seoul and Tokyo and proclaimed a “global youth movement.” In the United Kingdom, Turning Point UK is considered a loud voice against the left-wing mainstream in schools and universities. Nigel Farage paid tribute to Kirk in the House of Commons, Viktor Orbán called him a “defender of faith and freedom.” The British section of his organization announced a vigil in London and declared: “They murdered our boss. Our mentor. Our friend. We will not forgive. We will not forget.”

Kirk’s widow Erika, a former Miss Arizona, has not spoken publicly since the killing. Shortly after the shot, she posted a Bible verse on X: “Psalm 46:1 - God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble.” The couple’s two children, ages three and one, were a fixed part of Kirk’s self-image, the Christian family ideal his trademark. Investigators still do not know why Kirk had to die. Was it a political murder, a personal feud, an attack on symbolic figures of the right-wing camp? Utah is looking for a perpetrator, Washington is looking for someone to blame. The only certainty is that this shot not only ended the life of a man but is plunging the country into a new round of polarization.

Charlie Kirk's casket will be flown from Utah to Arizona aboard Air Force Two later today, according to well-informed sources.

Update: September 11, 2025, 10:40 p.m. CET – Local time in Utah 2:40 p.m. – Air Force Two carrying Vice President JD Vance has landed.