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  • What we know about ongoing manhunt for Charlie Kirk shooting suspect

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    What we know about ongoing manhunt for Charlie Kirk shooting suspect

    Good morning. I’m Bo Mason, commissioner for the Utah Department of Public Safety. I’d be remiss if we didn’t start off today to recognize the significance of, of the day, um. Historically on 9/11, law enforcement has come together as *** group to recognize and honor those that sacrificed. To preserve the ideals of this country, the freedoms of this country. And instead, we find ourselves today hunting *** murderer. We chose to violate our rights, the rights of an individual within this country. Just to recap yesterday’s events. At around 12:20 p.m. Political influencer Charlie Kirk was in Utah Valley University, participating in *** student sponsored event with Turning Point USA. Charlie was shot at that event. He was transported to *** local hospital where he later passed. Last night, his body was moved to the office, the state office of the medical examiner. We will continue to facilitate movements um to get him home today, um, and with his family. Yesterday during the investigative process we located *** couple of persons of interest. We interviewed those individuals. And after releasing them and after clearing them of being suspects. They face scrutiny. They face threats. We asked the public to be patient with the investigative process. These individuals were not suspects. They were people of interest. We ask that you do not impose into those those people and that investigative process. They don’t deserve that harassment for being subject to that. I’d like to thank all the investigators that are involved in this. They have worked around the clock all day yesterday through the night last night. Investigators from the State Bureau of Investigations, from county, from city agencies, the university, our federal partners with the FBI, the ATF, um, and many others. Those are just *** few of the people that we have involved in this. I’d like to thank all of them for their, for their strong work. Through all that work last night, we were able to make *** few, few breakthroughs. Um, we were able to track the movements of the shooter. Starting at 11:52 a.m. the subject arrived on campus shortly away from campus. We have tracked his movements onto the campus, through the stairwells, up to the roof, across the roof to *** shooting location. After the shooting, we were able to track his movements as he moved to the other side of the building, jumped off of the building, and fled off of the campus and into *** neighborhood. Our investigators have worked through those neighborhoods, contacting anybody they can with doorbell cameras, witnesses, and thoroughly worked through those communities trying to identify any leads. We do have good video footage of this individual. We are not going to release that at this time. We’re working through some technologies and some ways to identify this individual. If we are unsuccessful, we will reach out to you as the media, and we will push that publicly to help us identify them, but we’re confident in our abilities right now and we would like to move forward in *** manner that keeps everyone safe and moves this process appropriately. Last night I communicated with Erica. The family is devastated. As Commissioner of Public safety. As *** father, as *** husband, I can only imagine what that family is going through. The heinous event that happened yesterday is not Utah. This is not what we’re known for. Over the past several weeks, we’ve seen the state come together to help families in mourning, come together as *** community to show what Utah is known for. For *** state of, of character. Of service, of camaraderie, of ***, of *** neighboring field. We will not stand for what happened yesterday. We are exhausting every lead. We have every officer invested in this, every investigator, every local agency. The outpouring of support from the law enforcement community has been astounding. We are, we are investing everything we have into this, and we will catch this individual. Having walked through the crime scene, through the hallways of this school, through the classrooms. I can’t imagine what the people on scene felt as well. *** horrific event where some of them barricaded in classrooms, some of them ran in fear. Can’t over over overstate. The tragedy and the horrific event that yesterday was. And how we will work to, to bring to justice the actions of one individual or any other individuals that assisted in that. Our state has gone through *** lot and we will come out successfully. With that, I’ll turn the time over to Special Agens charge. Good morning. My name is Robert Bows, and I’m the special agent in charge of the Salt Lake Field Office. Following yesterday’s tragic shooting of Charlie Kirk, FBI agents have been working around the clock in coordination with our law enforcement partners. We are and will continue to work nonstop until we find the person that has committed this heinous crime and find out why they did it. This morning, I can tell you that we have recovered what we believe is the weapon that was used in yesterday’s shooting. It’s *** high-powered bolt action rifle. That rifle was was recovered in *** wooded area where the shooter had fled. So the FBI laboratory will be analyzing this weapon. Investigators have also collected footwear impression, *** palm print, and forearm imprints for analysis. I understand there are *** lot of questions about motive. I assure you that all leads, tips, and tips are being fully investigated. As of this morning, we received more than 130 tests. We thank the community for that. The FBI has brought every resource to bear. And we will continue to do so throughout the course of this investigation. The FBI’s mission is to protect the American people. It’s to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Any attack on the First Amendment. is an attack on the very foundation of our democracy. That is why we will, we will relentlessly pursue this case and the shooter until we find him. We also continue to grieve with the family and the community. It’s our community. If you have any video or images from the shooting, we ask you to please submit them to our digital media tip website at www.FBI.gov/Utahvalley shooting. You can also call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. We truly rely on the public’s help in these types of cases, and no tip is too small or insignificant. Thank you. Um, Commissioner James Matthews from Sky News, can I ask, uh, about the shooter? There’s clearly information, uh, about him or her. You say you’re confident at this stage in terms of tracking down who they are. Can you talk to us about their movements, their demeanor? Do you think it’s *** man? And also, can I ask what were the security arrangements in place? Was that move. Being monitored, it’s *** question many people will have particular problem. So what I’ll release about the suspect is uh Suspect blended in well with, with the college institution. Um, we’re not releasing any details right now and then we, we will soon, um, but right now we’re not, but that, that individual um appears to be of, of college age, um. We are confident in our abilities to track that individual. If we’re unsuccessful in identifying them immediately, we will reach out to the public’s help and the media’s help in pushing those photos. That was *** new development overnight working through the night studying those cameras, so that’s something that’s new and that we’re working through right now. As far as the security, I cannot speak to that. Neither the Department of Public Safety nor the Federal Bureau of Investigation was involved in in the planning or security of this event, and that’ll have to be *** question later for other agencies. I wanted to ask you, you mentioned that you found the gun in *** wooded area. Do you believe that the suspect could be hiding in the woods, and is that suspect possibly still in this area? So that’s *** good question and it’s, it’s *** question that goes to the safety of the community, right? Um, no, not in those woods. We walked through those woods and secured it. Um, as to the community, I can tell you that this was *** targeted event. Um, we don’t believe the community is, is at risk. However, we’re exhausting every resource to find him, uh, and. We will, we will do so on the BBC from the images you have, can you see clearly the suspect’s face? You say he was college age, do you believe he was from this university, and how far do you think he may have gone in this time span? So I can’t comment specifically on his face or any details such as that, uh, as it’s continuing to be *** part of the investigation and, and again we’ll release that shortly. Uh, however, um, we’re, we’re doing everything we can to find him, and we’re not sure how far he’s gone. And you do? We, we have images of the of the suspects that you’ve been able to recover, do you believe you know who this person is, the person that you’re looking for at this point again, as part of the investigation, we’re not releasing any details fingerprints or DNA. We are, we are exhausting all of our resources to be able to collect those, uh, but that’s again part of the excuse me. You said you found the weapon. Have you been able to trace back the owner of that weapon or purchased it? We are working on that but again part of the of the FBI think that’s impacting. We’ve got complete and total support from everyone from the director on down and it’s been an incredible supportive environment so far. tweets like the one where I can say is that we’re working the investigation the best we have right now.

    What we know about ongoing manhunt for Charlie Kirk shooting suspect

    Updated: 11:02 AM EDT Sep 11, 2025

    Editorial Standards ⓘ

    A manhunt continues Thursday as law enforcement officials search for the suspect responsible for fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk at the Utah Valley University campus on Wednesday.Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA when he was shot and killed. Kirk was the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA.What we know about the shooterPolice are still working to identify the shooter.The suspect targeted Kirk, firing a single shot from a distant rooftop, according to Commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety Beau Mason. Authorities said the suspect “appears to be of college age” and “blended in” with students on the college campus.Authorities said the suspect arrived on campus just before noon. After firing the shot, the shooter jumped from the roof, moved through stairwells and ultimately fled from campus into a neighborhood. A high-powered, bolt-action rifle was found in a wooded area where the shooter fled, according to the FBI. The shooter is still on the run, and it is not clear how far the suspect may have gotten, but the nearby woods have been secured, authorities said.Officials are reviewing grainy security videos of a person in dark clothing. “We do have good video of this individual,” Mason said.Federal, state and local authorities were working what they called “multiple active crime scenes.” Are there other suspects?A person of interest was taken into custody Wednesday evening after the shooting, but has since been released, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said. No charges were filed. Officials have no information indicating a second person was involved, according to Cox. Two other people were detained Wednesday, but neither was determined to be connected to the shooting and both were released, public safety officials said. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

    A manhunt continues Thursday as law enforcement officials search for the suspect responsible for fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk at the Utah Valley University campus on Wednesday.

    Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA when he was shot and killed. Kirk was the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA.

    What we know about the shooter

    Police are still working to identify the shooter.

    The suspect targeted Kirk, firing a single shot from a distant rooftop, according to Commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety Beau Mason.

    Authorities said the suspect “appears to be of college age” and “blended in” with students on the college campus.

    Authorities said the suspect arrived on campus just before noon.

    After firing the shot, the shooter jumped from the roof, moved through stairwells and ultimately fled from campus into a neighborhood. A high-powered, bolt-action rifle was found in a wooded area where the shooter fled, according to the FBI.

    The shooter is still on the run, and it is not clear how far the suspect may have gotten, but the nearby woods have been secured, authorities said.

    Officials are reviewing grainy security videos of a person in dark clothing. “We do have good video of this individual,” Mason said.

    Federal, state and local authorities were working what they called “multiple active crime scenes.”

    Are there other suspects?

    A person of interest was taken into custody Wednesday evening after the shooting, but has since been released, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said. No charges were filed.

    Officials have no information indicating a second person was involved, according to Cox.

    Two other people were detained Wednesday, but neither was determined to be connected to the shooting and both were released, public safety officials said.

    The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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  • Will the Bivalent Booster Cause Worse Side Effects?

    Will the Bivalent Booster Cause Worse Side Effects?

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    For as long as my marriage lasts, my household will be divided by reactions to vaccines.

    I am, fortunately, speaking of physical reactions rather than ideological ones; my partner and I are both shot enthusiasts, a fact we verified on our first date. But if my immune system is a bashful wallflower, rarely triggering more than a sore arm in the hours after I get a vaccine, then my spouse’s is a party animal. Every immunization I’ve watched him receive—among them, four doses of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine—has absolutely clobbered him with fevers, chills, fatigue, and headaches for about a full day. When he got the flu shot and the bivalent COVID jab together a few weeks ago, he ended up taking his first day off work in more than a decade. As usual, the same injections caused me so few symptoms that I wondered if I was truly dead inside.

    “Why don’t you feel anything?” my spouse howled at me from the bedroom, where his sweat was soaking through the sheets. “Sorry,” I yelled back from the kitchen, where I was prepping four days’ worth of meals between work calls after returning from an eight-mile run.

    If this is how every autumn will go from now on, so be it: A few hours of discomfort is still worth the rev-up in defenses that vaccines offer against serious disease and death. But it’s not hard to see that gnarly side effects will only add to the many other factors that work against COVID-vaccine uptake, including lack of awareness, sloppy messaging, dwindling access, and spotty community outreach. Back in the spring, when I spoke with several people who hadn’t gotten boosters despite being eligible for many, many months, several of them cited the post-shot discomfort as a reason. Now I’m getting texts and calls from family members and friends—all up to date on their previous COVID vaccines—admitting they’ve been dillydallying on the bivalent to avoid those symptoms too. “I don’t know if we’re going to continue to get strong buy-in from the public if they have this sort of reaction every year,” says Cindy Leifer, an immunologist at Cornell University.

    Read: America created its own booster problems

    The good news, at least, is that experts told me they don’t expect this bivalent recipe—or future autumn COVID shots, for that matter—to be worse, side-effect-wise, than the ones we’ve received before. It’ll take a while for data to confirm that, especially considering that more than a month into this fall’s rollout, fewer than 15 million Americans have received the updated shot. But Kathleen Neuzil, a vaccinologist at the University of Maryland School of Medicine who has studied the performance of COVID vaccines in clinical trials, pointed out to me that the mRNA shots’ ingredients have been swapped out before without altering the rate of side effects. As the alphabet soup of variants began to sweep the world in early 2021, she told me, vaccine makers started to tinker with alternate formulations, sometimes combining multiple versions of the spike protein into a single shot—“and they’re all comparable.” (If anything, early data suggest that bivalent shots containing an Omicron variant spike may be easier to take.) The same goes for flu vaccines, which are also retooled each year: When measured across the population, the frequency and intensity of side effects remain more or less the same.

    On average, then, mRNA-vaxxed people can probably expect to have an annual experience that’s pretty similar to the one they had with their first COVID booster. As studies have shown, that one was actually better for most people than dose No. 2, the most unpleasant of the injections so far. (The math, of course, becomes tougher for people getting another vaccine, such as the flu shot, at the same time.) There are probably two main reasons why side effects have lessened overall, experts told me. First, the spacing: Most people received the second dose in their Pfizer or Moderna primary series just three or four weeks after the first. That’s an efficient way to get a lot of people “fully vaccinated” in a short period of time, but it means that many of the immune system’s defensive cells and molecules will still be on high alert. The second shot could end up fanning a blaze of inflammation that was never quite put out. In line with that, researchers have found that spacing out the primary-series doses to eight weeks, 12 weeks, or even longer can prune some side effects.

    Dose matters a lot too: Vaccines are, in a way, stimulants meant to goad the immune system into reacting; bigger servings should induce bigger jolts. When vaccine makers were tinkering with their recipes in early trials, higher doses—including ones that were deemed too large for further testing—produced more side effects. Each injection in Moderna’s primary series contains more than three times the mRNA packaged into Pfizer’s, and Moderna has, on average, caused more intense side effects. But Moderna’s booster and bivalent doses contain a smaller scoop of the stimulating material: People 12 and older, for instance, get 50 micrograms instead of the 100 micrograms in each primary dose; kids 6 to 11 years old get 25 micrograms instead of 50. (All of Pfizer’s doses stay the same size across primaries and boosters, as long as people stay in the same age group.) People who switch between brands, then, may also notice a difference in symptoms.

    It’s a tricky balance, though. Sometimes, the immune system adjusts the magnitude of its protection to match the danger posed by a pathogen (or shot), a bit like titrating a crisis response to the severity of a threat—so it’s important that vaccine makers don’t undershoot. For better or worse, the mRNA-based COVID vaccines do seem to cause a rougher response than most other vaccines, including annual flu shots. One of the offending ingredients might be the mRNA itself, which codes for SARS-CoV-2’s spike protein. But Michela Locci, an immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania, told me that the mRNA’s packaging—a greasy fat bubble called a lipid nanoparticle—may be the more likely culprit. For some people, in any case, the side effects of COVID shots might be on par with those of the two-dose Shingrix vaccine, one of the most infamously reactogenic immunizations in our roster. Leifer, who has received both, told me the second dose of each “floored” her to about the same extent.

    The fact that I get fewer side effects than my spouse does not imply that I’m any less protected. A ton of factors—genetics, hormone levels, age, diet, sleep, stress, pain tolerance, and more—could potentially influence how someone experiences a shot. Women tend to have more reactive bodies, as do younger people. But there are exceptions to those trends: I’m one of them. The whole topic is understudied, Locci told me. Her own recent experience with the bivalent threw her for a loop. After her first, second, and third dose of Moderna each ratcheted up in side-effect severity, she cleared her calendar for the couple of days following her bivalent, “afraid I was going to be in bed with a fever again,” she said: “But it was a light headache for a morning, and then it was over.” She has no idea what next year will bring.

    Either way, side effects such as fevers and chills tend to be short-lived. “Very few side effects are severe,” Neuzil told me, “and COVID continues to be a severe disease.” Still, Grace Lee, a pediatrician at Stanford and the chair of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, hopes that scientists will keep developing new COVID vaccines that might come with fewer post-shot issues—including the very rare ones, such as myocarditis—without sacrificing immune protection. Lee doesn’t tend to react much to vaccines, but her daughter “always misses school the next day,” she told me. “I plan her shots for a Friday afternoon so she can lay out all Saturday.” Early on, when hardly anyone had immunity to the virus, signing everyone up for somewhat reactogenic shots was a no-brainer—especially given the hope that two doses would yield many, many years of protection. Now that we know it’s a repeated need, Neuzil said, “the equation changes a bit.”

    People aren’t totally helpless against side effects. Deepta Bhattacharya, an immunologist at the University of Arizona, had an “awful, terrible” experience with his second and third doses, which slammed him with 102- and 103-degree fevers, respectively. He weathered the side effects without intervention, worried that a painkiller would curb not just the agony, but also his protective immune response. This time, though, armed with new knowledge from his own lab that anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving drugs don’t blunt antibody levels, “the first sign I feel even the slightest bit shitty,” he told me, “I’m dosing up.”

    I’ll probably do the same for my spouse the next time he’s due for a vaccine of any kind … likely while I chill on the sidelines. Bhattacharya’s spouse, too, is kind of an immune introvert, a fact that he bemoans. “Her only side effect was she felt thirsty,” he said. “It’s just not fair.”

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    Katherine J. Wu

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