MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
The FBI is now offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of the individual or individuals responsible for the killing of Charlie Kirk. And FBI Director Kash Patel is on his way to Utah. That's according to a source with knowledge of the investigation but not authorized to speak publicly. Charlie Kirk is the Trump ally and conservative activist who was shot and killed on the campus of Utah Valley University yesterday. NPR's Kirk Siegler joins us now from that campus in Orem, Utah. Hey, Kirk.
KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: Hey, Mary Louise.
KELLY: Would you start by bringing us up to speed with the latest in this investigation? The FBI has now released two images, two pictures of someone they are calling a person of interest.
SIEGLER: That's right. These images, Mary Louise, show a younger man. The FBI is describing him as someone who definitely fit in on a college campus. He does look to be of typical age of a college student. These photos are a bit grainy, but in them, the man they're calling - as you say - a person of interest is wearing a hat, black sunglasses, black long-sleeve T-shirt with a partial view of an American flag on it.
Authorities are telling us that they recovered a high-power bolt action rifle. That's in a wooded area they got - they found this. Investigators found this near us here, that they say may be where the gunman left it as he fled the scene yesterday, running into a neighborhood adjacent to this sprawling campus. And now we have this manhunt going on. More than 24 hours later, he's still on the run.
KELLY: Yeah. And then, setting aside his whereabouts, what have you learned today about the circumstances that led up to the assassination?
SIEGLER: Well, information has been somewhat frustratingly slow to trickle out. We were expecting another press conference this afternoon. Then authorities canceled it abruptly, on short notice, saying there were just too many rapid developments, they said, in this case. So we're here waiting for more information and another announcement.
Here's what we know for sure. I can tell you, Mary Louise, authorities say the suspected gunman came onto this campus about a half hour before he shot Kirk yesterday at this event that had about 3,000 attendees. They have surveillance video they've been combing through, showing him moving through stairwells, onto a roof where he fired down onto the event from. Then he flees immediately, runs through this adjacent neighborhood we've been talking about.
But beyond this, you know, we have few other confirmed facts. Police aren't saying whether or not they believe the gunman is still loose in this area where I am or if he's fled. They are insisting, though, calm, that this is an isolated attack and there's no threat to the broader community. But Mary Louise, like, standing here, I have to tell you, you can imagine it's pretty tense, especially with all the heated rhetoric that's been going around online.
KELLY: Yeah. And just tell me more - paint a picture for me of what this campus looks like. I gather it's closed till next week.
SIEGLER: That's right. It's a large suburban campus - more than 40,000 students. I'm just north of Provo and BYU. And, you know, looking around right now, it's pretty much deserted, apart from cops at barricades at all the entrances and us reporters and satellite trucks - TV satellite trucks. I did just see a couple flower bouquets that people have been putting down on the sidewalks in front of me. And earlier, I was at a press conference early this morning. We were in one of the buildings, and it was really an unnerving sight. You could see just student belongings, like half-eaten lunch, headphones just sitting on desks abandoned when everybody ran yesterday.
I met Elliott Thorne. He came to the Kirk event yesterday with his wife and 16-month-old son from a nearby city. He came back today to see if he could get their stroller and some other things that, you know, they just abandoned in the chaos, but it's now a crime scene, so he couldn't. And he talked to me for a minute, and he said, you know, he's an avid conservative, and he is just devastated.
ELLIOTT THORNE: We live in a society now where this is being normalized. You know, no father should have to dive on their 16-month-old at a university, wondering if they're going to get shot in the back, saying a prayer to God, like, please hit me and not my child, like - or watching children screaming and witnessing an assassination.
SIEGLER: Mary Louise, Thorne told me, you know, he's hoping that this tragedy is what may finally cause Americans to come together and agree that the violence has to stop. But, you know, I got to say, covering the country right now like I do, being here in Utah, as well, it's hard to see that that might happen anytime soon.
KELLY: NPR's Kirk Siegler, I have the feeling we'll be checking in with you all evening as we await further developments. Thanks so much for your reporting.
SIEGLER: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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