On Wednesday, in Utah, the well-known conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed. The police are currently in pursuit of the gunman. A newly released video on Thursday revealed the suspect’s escape route after the shooting. The Governor of Utah stated that countries like China and Russia are using robots to spread false information and incite violence.
The video footage shows the suspect running across the roof of a building on the campus of Utah Valley University, then jumping down and eventually entering the woods where the police discovered a gun on Thursday morning. Beau Mason, the director of the Utah Department of Public Safety, explained the video at a press conference.
At the beginning of the video, the suspect is seen standing at the upper left corner of the roof of the school building, then running to the back of the building and finally to the right.
Mason mentioned that after the suspect climbed down from the building, they left behind fingerprints, some possible DNA traces, and a shoeprint, leading investigators to suspect that the suspect was wearing Converse sneakers.
The suspect then ran across the grass next to the parking lot and entered the nearby woods.
Earlier images released on Thursday showed the suspect wearing a shirt with the American flag and eagle design.
The identity of the suspect has not been confirmed yet. Authorities are urging the public to provide any clues and to contact law enforcement.
Governor Spencer Cox cautioned during a press conference that there is a considerable amount of false information related to the Charlie Kirk shooting case.
“I think Charlie said it best, that when things get worse, we should put down our phones and spend time with our families,” Cox said at the press conference on Thursday evening. “We are tracking a significant amount of false information.”
“What we are seeing is that our adversaries want violence,” he added. “Robots from Russia, China, and around the world are trying to spread false information and encourage violence.”
Cox pointed out that once the suspect is captured and brought to trial, prosecutors will investigate the motive behind the crime.
He also mentioned that law enforcement has received over 7,000 leads related to the Charlie Kirk assassination case, more than the leads received by the FBI since the Boston Marathon bombing.
“We have 20 federal, state, and local law enforcement partners working together to find the perpetrator of this heinous crime,” he continued. “With their support, we have conducted nearly 200 interviews. As you know, as reported earlier, the FBI is offering a reward of $100,000 to those with information that can help identify and apprehend the perpetrator of the Charlie Kirk murder.”
Cox also discussed the potential punishment the suspect may face once captured.
“The most important thing is to catch this individual,” he said. “Lastly, I want to say that we have been working with lawyers to prepare all necessary affidavits so we can seek the death penalty in this case. And that will happen in the state of Utah.”