A person of interest in the fatal shooting right-wing political commentator Charlie Kirk has been released from custody, FBI Director Kash Patel said Wednesday.
At a press conference Wednesday, authorities said a person of interest had been apprehended. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said that authorities do not possess information “that would lead us to believe there there is a second person involved” in what he described as a “political assassination.”
Prior to the press conference, FBI Director Kash Patel posted to X that the “subject” believed to have shot Kirk, 31, “is now in custody.”
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However, Patel later announced on X, formerly Twitter, that “The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement.”
“Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency,” Patel wrote.
The shooter was believed to be wearing dark clothing and tactical gear, and had fired from a building about 200 feet away, authorities said.
Kirk, 31, was shot during a campus event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Sept. 10. He was manning his signature “Prove Me Wrong” table as part of his American Comeback Tour on the Orem, Utah, campus, when shots were fired.
Kirk shared photos and video from the event on X just moments before the shooting began. He founded Turning Point USA, the nonprofit organization founded that advocates for conservative politics on college campuses in 2012.
He is survived by his wife, former Miss Arizona USA Erika Frantzve, and their two children, a 3-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son.
