CNN

Officials urge public’s help to identify Kirk shooting suspect as they release new video

By CNN

Published September 11, 2025 10:27 pm

CNN, FBI

By Taylor Romine, Amanda Musa, Dalia Faheid, Emma Tucker

OREM, Utah – More than a day after a shooting that stunned the nation, a massive manhunt is underway for the person who killed Charlie Kirk, a prominent conservative political activist. On Thursday, authorities shared a video that showed the suspect jumping off the roof of a university building after Kirk was shot.

The video released by the Utah Department of Public Safety shows the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s murder running across the roof of a school building, and eventually going into the wooded area where officials found the gun, Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said at a news conference.

The video starts by showing the suspect on the top left corner of a school roof, where the person runs behind an upper portion of the building and to the far-right corner.

The suspect then climbs off the building, leaving palm impressions, some smudges that might have DNA and a shoe imprint, which has led investigators to conclude the suspect is wearing Converse sneakers, Mason said.

Once the suspect gets off the side of the building, the person runs across the grass next to a parking lot and into a wooded area nearby, he said.

Utah’s Governor Spencer Cox is pleading with the public to speak out if they believe they know anything that could lead to the arrest of a shooter in the killing of Charlie Kirk.

“We cannot do our job without the public’s help right now,” Cox said. “The public has answered our call for action.”

So far, the FBI has received more than 7,000 leads and tips related to the shooting at Utah Valley University, Cox said.

The last time the agency received that many digital media tips from the public was following the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013, Cox said during a news conference Thursday.

The suspect in the killing of Kirk wore a “very distinctive” black T-shirt with an American flag and what appears to be an eagle, the Public Safety Commissioner said in an evening news conference.

Utah officials on Thursday shared photos of the suspect Thursday night. The suspect also wore blue jeans, a baseball cap with a triangle, Converse tennis shoes, sunglasses and a black backpack, the photos showed.

Vice President JD Vance arrived at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport Wednesday with Kirk’s family and casket.

Vance, who had a close relationship with Kirk, flew to Salt Lake City, Utah, earlier to retrieve the remains. He placed a hand on the casket and walked alongside uniformed personnel as they carried Kirk’s remains to Air Force Two today, video from the tarmac posted by Tyler Bowyer, Turning Point USA’s chief operating officer, shows.

The casket was then flown on Air Force Two to Phoenix, Arizona, where Kirk lived before his death. Vance and Second Lady Usha Vance also escorted Kirk’s wife and two children back to their home state.

Wednesday’s event at Utah Valley University was Kirk’s first stop on his fall semester series of live events at colleges and universities, titled “The American Comeback Tour ft. Kirk.”

Some of the events — including Wednesday’s in Orem, Utah — were promoted as having a “Prove Me Wrong” table – where Kirk famously faced opponents and challenged them to debate in public.

After co-founding the conservative non-profit Turning Point USA in 2012 at the age of 18, Kirk became a prominent supporter of Donald Trump, courting young voters and using his network of nonprofits to seek to turn out voters on campuses and churches for Trump in 2024.