Sawt Falasteen - Charlie Kirk killer still at large as police find gun

Kirk, a 31-year-old superstar on the Republican right who was credited with helping Donald Trump return to the presidency last year, was shot while addressing a large crowd at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

The killing -- described by the FBI as a "targeted event" -- shocked a nation already reeling from political tensions half a year into Trump's second term.

Authorities acknowledged the gunman remained at large after having escaped into woodland.

"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.

Authorities said they had secured quality images of the killer, who was of university age.

"We do have good video footage of this individual. We are not going to release that at this time," said Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety.

Bohls said the presumed murder weapon had also been found.

"It is a high powered bolt action rifle. That rifle was recovered in a wooded area where the shooter had fled," the FBI agent said.

Two people initially detained for questioning were released after officials determined they had no connection to the shooting.

- 'Dark moment' -

Reflecting the intensely political nature of the incident, it was Trump, rather than law enforcement authorities, who first announced to Americans that Kirk had died from his wound.

Trump then addressed the nation in a video address on social media in which he cited a "dark moment for America."

Despite no public information about the shooter's identity or motive, the president went on to suggest that the left wing was responsible -- and to pledge a wide-reaching response.

"For years, those on the radical left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world's worst mass murderers and criminals," he said. "This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing."

"My administration will find each and every one of those who contributed to this atrocity," Trump said.

- Shot in neck -

Kirk was shot in the neck while speaking to the crowd and collapsed in his chair.

Students at the university described the ensuing panic -- and their broader fears as political divisions deepen across the country.

"It makes me feel like I should be very careful about expressing my political ideas," said Samuel Kimball, a software engineering student, told AFP.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox, a Republican, called the killing a "political assassination."

Kirk, who supporters have hailed as a "martyr" for conservative ideals, had an outsized influence in US politics.

He co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 to drive conservative viewpoints among young people, his natural showmanship making him a go-to spokesman on television networks.

Kirk used his enormous audiences on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to build support for anti-immigration policies, outspoken Christianity and gun ownership, and to spread carefully edited clips of his interactions during debates at his many college events.

Three months ago, a Minnesota man shot dead a Democratic lawmaker and her husband in their home, and Trump survived an assassination attempt during his election campaign in July 2024.

Vice President JD Vance was due to travel to Utah to meet Kirk's family Thursday, a source familiar with the plans said, after he canceled a trip to New York to mark the 9/11 attacks anniversary.

Q.Jaber--SF-PST