On Thursday, Kirk, a 31-year-old superstar on the Republican right and a close ally of President Donald Trump, was killed by a single gunshot to the neck while addressing a large crowd on Wednesday. The FBI has described the killing as a “targeted event.”
The FBI has released grainy photos of a person of interest wearing a black baseball cap, dark sunglasses, and a long-sleeved top with a design including an American flag. Authorities, who described the suspect as being of university age, acknowledged that the gunman remains at large after escaping into a wooded area.
“We’re doing everything we can to find him, and we’re not sure how far he has gone yet, but we will do our best,” FBI Special Agent Robert Bohls told a media briefing. The FBI also announced a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the suspect’s capture.
Mr. Bohls said that the presumed murder weapon, a “high powered bolt action rifle,” was recovered in the wooded area where the shooter fled. The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday, citing a person familiar with the investigation, that investigators found ammunition engraved with expressions of transgender and antifascist ideology inside the rifle.
It was President Trump who first announced Kirk’s death. In a video address, Trump cited a “dark moment for America” and suggested the left wing was responsible. On Thursday, the president paid tribute to Kirk as a “giant of his generation” and announced that he would posthumously award him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor.
