A video has emerged that appears to show a bearded man celebrating and looking back at the source of the gunfire just moments after Charlie Kirk was killed. The conservative influencer was shot in the neck and rushed to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries
Widely circulated footage, clipped from TV broadcasts and spread online, shows a young man in a black T-shirt and backwards baseball cap pumping his fists and cheering just after the fatal shot that killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus Wednesday afternoon. In the clip, the man appears to glance back in the direction from where the shot was fired.
New Video Raises Question
While most of the crowd dropped to the ground after the gunshot, one man, long-haired, bearded, and still unidentified, stayed on his feet. The bullet had struck Kirk, 31, a father of two, in the neck as he spoke at Utah Valley University.
"This guy happens to know where the shooter was and is looking back, cheering him on after the lifeless body of Charlie Kirk has fallen to the ground," one user wrote on X, sharing the clip.
"This guy cheered after Charlie Kirk was assassinated. I have no words left," another X user wrote.
"How psychotic do you have to be to cheer as Charlie Kirk gushes blood and dies, while others scream and cower?" another user wrote.
The Utah County Sheriff's Department confirmed it has received the video for review.
The shooter remains at large, and a massive manhunt involving multiple agencies is underway. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for any information that helps identify and capture him.
The FBI has released two surveillance photos of a "person of interest" in the shooting. The photos show a tall, thin man dressed in dark clothing, wearing wraparound sunglasses, and a T-shirt featuring an eagle and an American flag with the words "Land of the free, home of the brave."
Authorities are urging anyone who recognizes the man to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or send in a tip online.
The gunman entered the campus at 11:52 a.m. on Wednesday — less than 30 minutes before firing the single deadly shot that killed Kirk, Beau Mason of the Utah Department of Public Safety said at a morning press conference.
Deadly Shot
Kirk was shot in the neck and was rushed to the hospital. However, he succumbed to his injuries. The gunman remains at large as cops frantically hunt for him. Bohls said the shooter's rifle was found in a wooded area near campus and noted that the Bureau has already received more than 130 tips connected to the case.
He added that investigators also found shoe prints and a palm print near the scene of the shooting, giving detectives more evidence to work with. Investigators believe the shooter fired from the roof of the Losee Center, where a shadowy figure was spotted running just seconds after the gunshot.
The building sits about 200 yards from where Kirk had been speaking with students and community members about political issues. He had just finished answering a question on gun violence when the attack happened.
The search for the gunman is still ongoing, and so far, little is known about who they are. First responders at the scene described the shooter as wearing all black and aviator-style sunglasses.
