In the latest incident of political violence in the United States, Charlie Kirk, a close aide of President Donald Trump, was fatally shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
A manhunt has been launched for the lone sniper suspected of firing the single gunshot from a nearby roof that killed Kirk, 31. Utah governor and Republican leader Spencer Cox termed the incident a “political assassination”.
The Utah Department of Public Safety, which is leading the investigation along with the FBI, briefly detained two people, but they were later released. "There are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals," officials said.
The FBI has urged anyone with information, photos or videos related to the incident to share files through an online form.
According to CNN, a video captured by an attendee moments after Kirk was shot showed a figure ducking while running across the rooftop of the Losee Centre, a building directly opposite to where Kirk was sitting when he was killed.
There were about 3,000 people gathered at the event held as part of his American Comeback Tour. Video footage from the scene showed students fleeing after hearing gunshots.
With the suspect still at large, there is no clear evidence of the motive for the act of violence.
Trump, in a video message, blamed the “radical left lunatics” to the surge in violence. "This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing in our country today, and it must stop right now,” he said.
In a cruel irony, Kirk was talking about gun violence in the United States when he was shot.