The at-large assassin who shot and killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk Wednesday likely fired from a nearby rooftop during an event at Utah Valley University (UVU), according to local officials.
“The shooting is believed to be a targeted attack,” Utah’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) said in a statement. “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.”
Video footage surfaced after the event appeared to show a person running on a rooftop of a building overlooking the courtyard just moments after Kirk was shot.
The video, captured by business school student Tanner Maxwell, was taken from behind the tent where the Turning Point USA co-founder was speaking. It shows people in a packed courtyard ducking for cover after the gunshot went off.
“Right when I hit the camera is when I heard the shot go off,” Maxwell told The Washington Post.
Zoomed in and enhanced, the footage shows an individual wearing dark clothing running for approximately two seconds on the roof of UVU’s Losee Center, approximately 140 yards away from where Kirk was speaking, the Post reported.
University spokesperson Ellen Treanor said the single shot “came from the direction of the Losee Center,” in a statement reported Wednesday evening.
Police originally detained two individuals suspected to be connected to the shooting but later released them, saying, “There are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals.”
“There is an ongoing investigation and manhunt for the shooter,” the officials added.
People on both sides of the aisle have reacted to the public assassination with condolences for Kirk’s family. The 31-year-old activist is survived by his wife Erika and two young children.
