FBI Releases New Video of Suspect in Charlie Kirk Shooting as Public Appeal Intensifies
Washington D.C. – The FBI on Thursday released additional video footage of a person of interest in the shooting death of Charlie Kirk, CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA, as authorities continue an urgent search for the suspect. Kirk, 35, was shot Wednesday and pronounced dead after being transported to a nearby hospital.
The shooting has sparked bipartisan condemnation of escalating political violence in the United States and prompted a swift response from former President Donald Trump, who pledged to find those responsible. Trump stated he would award Kirk the Medal of freedom posthumously and spoke with kirk’s wife on Thursday. He indicated authorities are making ”big progress” in identifying the suspect and have a potential motive, details of which he said would be released later.
In a video message from the Oval Office delivered shortly after Kirk’s death, Trump vowed to track down the suspect and vowed his management would pursue “each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity and to other political violence, including the organizations that fund it and support it.”
Following an initial inflammatory address blaming “the radical left” for Kirk’s death, Trump later appeared to adopt a more conciliatory tone, agreeing with a reporter’s suggestion that his supporters refrain from violence. The White House shared this exchange on social media, seemingly aiming to de-escalate tensions that have already manifested in violence, including an assault on a Kirk critic at a vigil in Boise, Idaho, on Wednesday night.
Republican Representative Don Bacon of Nebraska, who is retiring at the end of his current term, expressed a desire for Trump to unite the country, but acknowledged, “he’s a populist, and populists dwell on anger.” Bacon also referenced the June murder of former Minnesota house Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, by a gunman targeting Democrats, noting, ”we had Democrats killed in Minnesota too.”
The examination is ongoing, with the FBI urging anyone with data to come forward.
