The man who shot and killed right-wing activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University is now in custody, President Donald Trump said Friday.
Appearing live on “Fox and Friends” Friday morning, Trump told the hosts he believes “with a high degree of certainty” that the shooter has been apprehended. “Essentially, somebody that was very close to him turned him in,” Trump said. “It’s interesting, we had very good pictures, but not great, not perfect.”
According to Trump, the suspect’s own father and a religious figure played a role in convincing him to come forward. “We started off with a clip that made him look like an ant, that was almost useless. We just saw there was somebody up there,” he added.
NBC News confirmed the arrest with law enforcement. Utah authorities have not yet publicly named the suspect.
Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said on Thursday that investigators had “good video footage of this individual” and described the suspect as “college aged” and someone who “blended in well with the institution.” Surveillance video reportedly shows the suspect arriving on campus just before noon, climbing to the rooftop, firing the fatal shot, and then escaping by jumping off the other side of the building into a neighborhood.
The FBI released two surveillance stills on Thursday showing a “person of interest” dressed in a black hat, dark sunglasses, and a black long-sleeve shirt with an American flag design across the chest. Officials believe the person in the footage is the same man now in custody.
FBI agents also recovered a “high-powered, bolt action rifle” from a wooded area near the university on Wednesday. They believe it’s the weapon used in the shooting.
Kirk, a high-profile conservative commentator and founder of Turning Point USA, had been speaking at Utah Valley University when the shooting occurred. His death sent a shockwave through conservative circles and reignited debates about political violence in the U.S.
In the immediate aftermath, Utah authorities detained two individuals they labeled as suspects. Those arrests turned out to be wrong. “Further investigation revealed neither individual was involved in the shooting,” state officials later admitted.
With a suspect now in custody, the focus will shift to motive—and whether this was politically driven or something else entirely.
