More evidence emerges in the Charlie Kirk assassination
The modus operandi in the Kirk assassination seems somewhat similar to that of the Trump assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania. One difference is that, when an ex-president and presidential candidate speaks at a large open-air venue, the roofs are supposed to be secured. That’s not been the case – till now – for people like Kirk, who are political speakers and commentators (“activist” is the term much of the MSM is using for Kirk) but are not high officeholders. The targeting of someone like Kirk is new; although plenty of people in the political public eye get death threats, I can’t offhand think of one that’s been carried out successfully before.
And no, Breitbart was not murdered.
The big difference is, of course, that the Kirk assassin was successful and Trump’s fortunately was not. Trump’s would-be killer was himself killed at the venue before he had time to leave the roof, while Kirk’s killer escaped.
The FBI has now released the following information surrounding yesterday’s event:
“We are asking for the public’s help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University,” the FBI’s Salt Lake City office said on X on Thursday while sharing two images of the individual, who is wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses and was captured in a stairwell in one of them.
The FBI said it is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person responsible for Kirk’s murder.
Here are the images:
More:
The FBI also said Thursday it has recovered what is believed to be the weapon used in the deadly shooting. A “high-powered bolt action rifle,” which officials believe was the weapon used in the shooting, was recovered in a wooded area near where the shooting took place, according to Salt Lake City FBI Special Agent Robert Bohls.
The rifle is an older model imported Mauser .30-06 caliber bolt action rifle wrapped in a towel, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News. The location of the firearm appears to match the suspect’s route of travel, the sources said.
The spent cartridge was still chambered and three unspent cartridges contained wording on them expressing what some law enforcement officials described as “transgender and anti-fascist” writing, according to preliminary information shared with agencies. It’s unclear what that means and authorities are still working to determine the meaning or whether the markings were intended as misdirection for investigators.
This writing of messages on cartridges is similar to the act of leftist heartthrob Luigi Mangione; you may recall this:
Three 9 mm shell casings from the crime scene had the words “delay,” “deny” and “depose” written across them, one word per bullet, NYPD’s Chief Detective Joseph Kenny has said. Police have been looking into whether the words, which title a 2010 book critiquing the insurance industry, may point to a motive in CEO Brian Thompson’s killing.
The photos of the suspect in Kirk’s killing are indistinct, but nevertheless they might help someone make an identification. I haven’t seen any explanation of how this person originally came under suspicion, but they say that they’ve been able to track this suspect’s movements quite well through surveillance footage.
Also:
After the shooting, the suspect traveled to the other side of building, jumped off and fled off-campus into a neighborhood, Mason said. Officials are working through nearby neighborhoods, contacting people with doorbell cameras and speaking to witnesses to identify any leads, Mason said.
Along with recovering the weapon, Bohls said investigators have also collected a footwear impression, palm print and forearm imprints for analysis.
Some of my thoughts (hunches only): this was not a professional hit; this was a leftist and the cartridge messages are not misdirection; yesterday I’d come to believe they would never find the killer, but now I think they have a decent chance although $100K seems a very low reward.
If you’re curious about the T-shirt, as I was, it seems to be this disabled vets shirt.
Take a page from the Reacher fiction and go visit rifle ranges fellas.
Fleshing out the report neo uses is the graphic lede at Zerohedge, which details that the MSM like CNN fail to credit LouderByCrowder getting an ATF leak saying that ammo casings ha “trantifa” etchings upon them
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/fbi-reveals-charlie-kirk-assassin-was-college-age-armed-bolt-action-rifle
The Trans-murder mafia has been manifest from coast to coast before CK got a bullet. Now, filling in the gaps, are they?
Plus – speculation: solo act or enable by others?
Someone via Instapundit helpfully explains the three types of assassins typically seen.
First, “the nutter.
Second, the zealot.
Third, the pro.
Here we seem to see the practiced zealot. Cf, not even the Jack Reacher style shooter.
TJ:
It is indeed strange that the shooter acted when Kirk was answering a question about trans shooters. Coincidence? Plan through a confederate asking the question? Or did the shooter know the question would almost undoubtedly be asked, and was waiting for that moment even though the questioner wasn’t a confederate?
It is one thing to “secure” roof tops, and another thing (a much easier thing) to surveil the roof tops. I really don’t get it. There were security people there. One or two people with binoculars could do a lot to prevent this sort of thing. Binoculars and a radio or phone.
I supposed the security folks are most worried about a medium to zero range pistol attack, a la Reagan, or Oswald, or McKinley, or John Lennon etc.
Neo: Regarding your thought that the shooter chose his time to coincide with a question from the audience, if it was really 400 from shooter to Charlie, he would have needed some kind of listening device. If he were relying only on the PA system at the event, he would not have been able to hear the question. Just a thought.
I’d second F, and point out that Kirk would probably have been answering SOME question at the time the trigger was pulled, and it may not have any significance, any more than the particular words being used just before Trump was shot necessarily would have any significance for Trump’s shooter.
F; Niketas:
As I said, perhaps a coincidence.
But I heard the shooter was 150 yards away (see this). Seems to me the shooter might have easily heard, with a decent PA system.
TommyJay:
I also was rather surprised by the seeming failure to even pay attention to roofs. Then again, the shooter was lying down, which made it a little harder. But still … after Butler, one would think.
Kirk was also under some sort of awning/tent. Did that mean they thought the sightlines weren’t good from above??
There is video out there taken by a guy on a phone, pointing out someone in dark clothing lying down on the front edge of that building. You can tell its a person due to him moving a bit, and the camera holder said he’d just run onto the roof.
Too bad nothing was done and no security noticed this.
Not conclusive, not definitive, not indisputable, not an absolute certainty, not incontestable, but for damn sure worth a look see: https://x.com/ActorBretCorey/status/1966219367194177956
Images at link.
TommyJay writes, “I supposed the security folks are most worried about a medium to zero range pistol attack, a la Reagan, or Oswald, or McKinley, or John Lennon etc.”
Probably — his security detail aimed at the most likely threats. Lax by habit to other threats.
Name a non-politician activist attacked by a sniper at a distance? Political figures like Trump, sure. But a mere controversialist? A Socratic minded and temperate speaker raising questions on hot-button issues?
Is there anyone like him murdered this way? Since MLK? I can’t think of someone in the last two decades.
On the other thread, Neo writes apropos: “ This death is less like an assassination of an officeholder and more like a terrorist attack, because it seems meant to frighten and silence rather than to stop someone in a governmental position.”
True. And why it has CKs supporters feeling ANGRY!
He looks vaguely like David Hogg, primarily due to his scrawnyness.
From the previous thread…
”Doesn’t sound like a ‘professional hit.’”
I think it’s highly likely this was an Antifa hit. They are highly funded and highly organized, international in scope, and train extensively for this and other types of operations. Yesterday it was reported that this message was posted to TikTok two days ago:
“Charles James Kirk. Mr. College Drop out does not know whats coming tomorrow. Be ready. This isn’t a threat. It’s a promise.”
We underestimate them at our own peril.
SCOTT the BADGER:
Or Thomas Matthew Crooks? Remember him?
How hard or expensive would it have been to have a single drone in place scanning the rooftops during the event?
More pics being released now and a presser announced within the hour.
Zizian (or “adjacent”).
After watching that press conference they must not have any idea who this guy is. I’ve watched enough movies and TV shows to know that going to the public for help is one of the last things they do when they are struggling to ID a suspect.
Seems unbelievable with all the technology at their disposal they are still at a loss.
This isn’t some random murder in rural South Dakota this is on a modern very large college campus in pretty large metro area.
Watching lots of videos on X of nasty people celebrating the shooting. They give new meaning to the phrase “dressed to kill.” Know the signs, and back away slowly.
This late evening, CBS News reports that authorities have the name of the man in the videos and pictures.
“Investigators believe they have the name of a person of interest, according to three sources, though no arrest warrant has been issued.” https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/live-updates/charlie-kirk-shot-utah-turning-point-usa/
ENHANCED higher definition photos of the pics at the top, etc, have been made available.
https://www.ksl.com/article/51373655/manhunt-for-charlie-kirks-assassin-continues-cox-threatens-death-penalty-as-fbi-director-visits
Yes, he does look like Crooks!
Various law enforcement types have said that the whole thing shows serious familiarity with everything from where Kirk would be speaking to the best location, and how to access it. And exit. It is suggested that the rifle was broken down and hidden in a pant leg which means the guy was confident he could reassemble it briskly while in an awkward position. Takes practice. A certain degree of practice gives you the skill/muscle memory. Takes more reps to become confident.
He appears to have jumped down, dropping a significant distance at the end of his climbing. Either that was a mistake or something went wrong…or he was sufficiently confident in his athleticism to anticipate no possibility of injury. Presumably, with the familiarity demonstrated, his egress would have gone as planned, since he would have planned it.
So he’s been around there a lot. Either as a matter of his general life–does he work in the area?–or recon in preparation. In either case, others frequently in the area might know him.
For the non-guners; two hundred yards from prone rest to a human-sized target is easy. And that’s with iron sights “battle sights”. The weapon is reportedly a hunting rifle with a scope. Presuming the scope is zeroed–another task for prepping the shooting–hit is about 99% likely.
The reports are that it was “high-powered”. What isn’t? But some rifles, including versions of the AR-15 are not considered sufficiently powerful in some states to be allowed for deer hunting–less chance of a merciful quick death. But a bolt-action “hunting rifle” can be presumed to throw a heavy bullet at high velocity.
All of which shows, imo, as much prep as at Butler. Working the prep backwards could yield some interesting connections.
So, is the guy’s Secret Service pension vested? I kid, I kid….
Trump is on Fox News this morning. He says they have the suspected shooter in custody. Someone who knew him turned him in.
https://www.foxnews.com/us/charlie-kirks-suspected-assassin-captured-after-fatal-shooting-influential-conservative-voice-utah
I watched the presser last night and at first thought…they have no idea. Then an arrest this morning. The presser seems to have been a false flag to keep the perp in place and at ease that they hadn’t identified him.
The Sun has reported his father turned him in.
physicsguy, on a previous thread you wondered what you personally could do. I have a suggestion, should you wish to use it. Someone has set up a website where people can send links to posts celebrating the murder of Charlie Kirk. If people are posting such garbage on the websites of their employers, or identifying themselves with businesses or public institutions while doing it, the site will begin publishing the posts. Libs of Tik Tok has already posted some, and people have been fired.
I do think that personal posts, while nauseating, are not grounds for job loss. But people who are using their employers’ web presence, or worse, tax-funded websites, to publish celebrations of political violence shouldn’t get away with it any more.
https://www.charliesmurderers.com
Hoping it’s not another false start.
Seems legit this time. The shooter does not appear to be “trans.” The cartridges had antifa-like markings. This would be another case of a young person sucked into the deluded and violent leftist underworld.
Supposedly, they have shoe prints, hand prints, and arm prints to compare to the suspect. Also, there might be bits of touch DNA on the gun and other items the gunman handled. The forensics will enhance or discredit the case against him.
Kate,
I’ve read there’s a lot of people looking for such posts, and our rep Anna Luna seems to be leading the charge. Most of whom I see are older and probably retired but not all. Good for the right starting to cancel people…the left started this war, we can fight back.
I just put up this post about the suspect’s capture.
Surprising to me that he did not think through very well the potential for CCTV (or random phone videos?) “seeing” him.
Although he wore a black hat and shirt and might have been less conspicuous with that, his shirt had an identifiable graphic on it. Probably one that was not too common.
Then he texts with someone about needing to retrieve a (or his) gun, plus marking the bullets? Perhaps deep down he wanted to get caught, for reasons of family discord or political or other issues??