By David Wu

Copyright news

The conservative activist was fatally gunned down in front of thousands of attendees at Utah Valley University during the first stop of his “American Comeback Tour” while answering a question on mass shootings in the United States.

The killer was able to flee the campus quickly among the chaos, with police mistakenly arresting two people amid the confusion.

Seconds after Kirk is shot in the neck, social media video appeared to show a dark figure running on the roof of a nearby school, later identified as the Losee Centre.

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Photos from the top of the building have revealed the clear line of sight the shooter had to the father-of-two who was seated underneath a portable gazebo at the main school courtyard.

The reported rooftop is covered in gravel and police have already turned it into a crime scene with orange markers pointing to what appeared to be indentations made by the killer.

The distance from the top of the campus to where Kirk was seated is about 180 metres – with suggestions an assassination that only involved one bullet was carried out by someone with firearm experience.

Why killer picked that location

A retired FBI supervising agent said the assassin had chosen a spot that would allow him to get away from the university as far away as quickly possible.

“If you come off that roof – and I’ve seen drone footage of this – there’s an open-air parking lot behind that building,” James Gagliano told Fox and Friends.

“It’s spitting distance from I-15 … a major thoroughfare there. So, this is a big concern because this person, within three to five minutes of that shot going off, that person could have been in a vehicle on his way out and miles and miles away.”

Mr Gagliano also flagged the nearest airport was only 45 minutes from the campus, suggesting the shooter could have easily boarded a plane and fled anywhere in the US.

He also argued the assassin did not have to be a trained professional with guns, saying a scope can make the shot “very easy” from 180 metres.

Manhunt continues

It has been more than 24 hours since the deadly shooting, with the killer still at large.

Authorities have released CCTV vision of a “person of interest” overnight.

He was dressed in a dark top emblazoned with the American flag and eagle, and text that read “land of the free, home of the brave”.

The man also wore a cap and sunglasses to conceal his identity.

A reward of $100,000 is on offer for information leading to his identification and arrest.

Multiple agencies, including the FBI, are involved in the search but have not yet led to any results.

“We are asking for the public’s help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University,” the FBI wrote to X.

Police located a .30-06-calibre bolt action rifle wrapped in a towel and found in the wooded area near the campus in the town of Orem in Utah.

Federal investigators suspect it was the murder weapon.

Police sources say the weapon contained cartridges engraved with “transgender and anti-fascist ideology” but that has not been confirmed, The New York Post reported.

Minutes after the shooting early on Wednesday afternoon (local time), police mistakenly arrested an older man who had his legs around his ankles and a young man.

Both were quickly identified as not being the shooter given they were not matching the description.

Nation in mourning

Many in the US are mourning the death of Kirk.

Flags are flying at half-mast at the White House, public grounds and buildings, military post and naval stations across the country until Sunday at the order of President Trump.

A floral tribute continues to grow outside the headquarters of Turning Point USA, a non-profit organisation advocating conservative politics founded by Kirk when he was aged 18.

Prayers and candlelight vigils were held across the nation.

The body of the conservative activist will be flown back to his home state of Arizona on Air Force Two, the vice president’s aircraft.

Vice President JD Vance, who said he was friends with Kirk, and his wife Erika will accompany the heartbroken family and friends on the flight.

Kirk was a key supporter of President Trump and had risen in popularity among young conservatives by merging multi-platform media and in-person speaking events.

He is known for visiting liberal-leaning high schools, colleges and university campuses to debate students.

The 31-year-old is survived by his wife Erika Frantzve, 36, a former Miss Arizona beauty queen, and his two young daughters.