Authorities have released footage of Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer fleeing the scene on foot as their search for the suspect continues.
At a Thursday evening press conference, Utah Governor Spencer Cox revealed the footage, which shows the shooter lying prone on top of Utah Valley University’s Sorenson Center.
The footage then follows the suspect as he runs across the rooftop before climbing off the edge and dropping to the ground.
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Beau Mason, Commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, explained that the suspect left “palm impressions, some smudges... [and] a shoe imprint,” all of which authorities are looking to collect DNA from.
Mason noted that the suspect was wearing a baseball cap, a black shirt with an American flag and an eagle, black pants, and Converse shoes. Images released by the FBI of the suspect earlier on Thursday show a man in the same outfit. Authorities are asking the public to keep an eye out for anyone matching his description.
The video, taken from across the parking lot behind the building, shows the suspect moving around the parking lot and across the street into a wooded area near campus.
Authorities continued to appeal to the public for more information on the suspect’s identity or whereabouts.
“We have pushed these out and we will continue to push these out, and we just ask for the public’s cooperation. Through the public, the tips that have been coming in are giving us our next leads and enabling us to continue to further this investigation,” Mason said.
“We’ve had great cooperation from the public, and we continue to ask for that as we move forward.”
Governor Cox told reporters that authorities have received more than 7,000 leads and tips, the most digital media tips the FBI has received from the public since the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.
Cox added that 20 state and federal law enforcement partners are working together as the search for the suspect continues, and authorities have already completed nearly 200 interviews. Mason told MSNBC that authorities currently have “no idea” whether the suspect is still nearby or even still in Utah.
FBI Director Kash Patel was present at the press conference but did not speak, prompting further questions after his handling of the case had already raised concerns.
The FBI mistakenly detained two people for questioning in the immediate aftermath of the shooting, only to later release them from custody and provide their names to the public. A viral mix-up on social media led to a 77-year-old retired banker from Toronto being mistakenly identified as one of the men wrongly detained and harassed.
The FBI initially stated that it would not release images of the suspect until it had exhausted all possible avenues of identification on its own, but reversed its stance hours later and instead appealed to the public for assistance in identifying the man.
The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of the shooter.
