Law enforcement officials have detained the suspected shooter who killed Charlie Kirk at a college event this week, President Donald Trump announced Friday morning on Fox & Friends.
“With a high degree of certainty, we have him in custody,” the president told the co-hosts of the popular morning show – contending that he was adding the word “I think” to the sentence, just in case.
Trump told the co-hosts that a person “close” to the suspected shooter turned them in to the police after seeing photos and videos, which federal law enforcement released.
“It was a minister, and the minister went to a friend – a minister who’s involved in law enforcement, by the way, and his good friend is a top U.S. marshal, and they took it from there, and then it was a father got involved,” Trump said.
The president was unable to provide exact details but said law enforcement would hold a press conference at 9 a.m. on to provide more information about the suspected shooter.
At least four officials with knowledge of the person in custody confirmed to CNN that law enforcement was currently questioning the individual.
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot on Wednesday while attending a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University.
The Republican activist was the co-founder of Turning Point USA, a nonprofit dedicated to engaging with high school and college-aged individuals on campuses. Kirk had dedicated most of his life to representing conservative beliefs and engaging in debate to spread right-wing policies to young people.
Trump told Fox & Friends that Kirk’s family intends to keep Turning Point USA running.
Kirk’s death has rattled Republicans, including the president and his family. It marks the latest in a string of political violence that has deepened rifts within the country and made lawmakers worried for their safety. Though, Trump said on Friday morning the shooting appeared to be a “one-off.”
“Well, I hope he’s going to be found guilty,” Trump told Fox & Friends. “I would imagine — and I hope he gets the death penalty. What he did, Charlie Kirk, he was the finest person that, he didn’t deserve this. He worked so hard and so well, everybody liked him.”
Trump, who has credited Kirk with helping him win the 2025 presidential election, told Fox & Friends he was unable to watch the video of Kirk being shot.
Law enforcement was still searching for the shooter on Thursday evening and asked members of the public for help identifying a person of interest in the case.
While a formal motive has not been determined yet, many believe the killing was politically motivated.
Officials had previously recovered what they believe is the weapon used in the deadly shooting and some ammunition. An internal bulletin, obtained by the Wall Street Journal, indicated that ammunition found inside the rifle contained “transgender and anti-fascist ideology” inscribed into it – though authorities cautioned against making conclusions based on the preliminary bulletin.
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