Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and Trump’s close ally, was shot dead in Utah on Wednesday. The suspect shot him dead from about 180 meters away using a bolt-action rifle.
The suspect in the killing of conservative activist and Donald Trump’s close ally Charlie Kirk has been taken into custody after a two-day-long manhunt, the US President said on Friday.
“I think with a high degree of certainty that we have him…somebody close to him turned him in,” Trump announced during a Fox News’ ‘Fox and Friends’ show.ย
“The Local police, the governor andย the FBI did great. Thank Jesus Christ. May God make this swift,” he added.
Charlie Kirk’s killing
Kirk, 31, was shot dead on Wednesday in what police described as a targeted attack, with Utah’s governor calling it a political assassination. Kirk, a close ally of Trump, was the co-founder of the nonprofit political group Turning Point USA.
Police recovered a high-powered bolt-action rifle near the scene and said the gunman escaped by jumping off a roof and disappearing into the woods.
On Thursday, federal investigators and state officials released photos and a video of the suspected attacker. Kirk was shot while addressing a crowd gathered in a courtyard at Utah Valley University in Orem. Incidentally, he was talking about the gun culture in the US when a single shot hit him on his neck. Kirk began bleeding profusely and became immobile immediately.ย
Officials said they had received more than 7,000 leads and tips, but the suspect has not yet been publicly identified, and no motive has been disclosed. The killing marks the latest instance of political violence in the United States.
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