Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University on Wednesday as he addressed a large crowd at an outdoor debate. Officials described it as a “targeted attack,” and it drew condemnation from both sides of the political aisle as authorities launched a massive search for the suspect.

On Friday, officials announced they have a person in custody for the fatal shooting. They identified him as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who resides in Southern Utah.

Kirk, who co-founded the right-wing advocacy group Turning Point USA, was 31. He is survived by his wife, Erika, and two young children.

Here is what we know so far about the assassination and ongoing investigation.  

The suspect

Utah Gov. Chris Cox told reporters at the start of a press conference Friday morning: “We got him.”

Cox said the person of interest, Robinson, was approached by investigators wearing clothing consistent with the attire seen on surveillance footage that was released by law enforcement.

Family members said Robinson had “become more political” in recent years.

Cox said messages on Discord, an instant messages and social media platform, that were reviewed by investigators referenced a rifle wrapped in a towel that was left in the woods and engravings on bullets. The messages came from a person named “Tyler” and were between an unidentified individual, Cox said.

President Trump first broke the news on “Fox and Friends” that someone had been taken into custody.

“With a high degree of certainty, we have him in custody. Everyone did a great job,” the president said.

He said a minister who is involved with law enforcement played a role in turning the person in.

“Somebody that was very close to him said ‘Hm, that’s him,’ and essentially went to the father, went to a U.S. Marshal — who was fantastic by the way — and the person was involved with law enforcement but was a person of faith, a minister, and brought him to a U.S. Marshal who was fantastic,” the president said.

On Thursday, Utah Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason described the suspect they were seeking as a male who “blended in” with the college community and appeared to be “college-age.” 

The public safety department and the Salt Lake City FBI office posted images of someone they called a “person of interest,” showing an individual appearing to wear a dark long-sleeve shirt, a hat and sunglasses. More photos posted later on Thursday showed the person wearing a backpack. The agency did not disclose where the photos were taken. 

Mason said investigators were able to track the shooter’s movements before and after the assassination. He said the gunman is believed to have arrived on campus at 11:52 a.m. local time on Wednesday and moved through stairwells to the roof of a building near where Kirk’s event was taking place, which was the shooting location. 

Mason said the shooter moved to the other side of the building after firing a single shot, then jumped off and fled into a neighborhood off campus. Investigators contacted homeowners with cameras and witnesses to identify leads, he said.

In a news briefing Thursday evening in Orem, Utah, with FBI Director Kash Patel in attendance, officials released security video that showed a man — whom Mason called a suspect — running across the roof and then climbing down the side of the building immediately after the shooting.

As he climbed off the edge of the building and dropped down, he “left some palm impressions, some smudges, some places we’re looking to collect DNA,” along with a shoe print that indicated he was wearing Converse tennis shoes, Mason told reporters while showing the video. 

“It’s important to note his black t-shirt, his black pants, and there appears to be some white on the soles of those Converse tennis shoes,” Mason said. “Those are all identifiable items that we’re looking for.”

After dropping off the building, the video showed the man moving across a grassy area before entering traffic. Mason said he crossed the street into a wooded area, where the firearm believed to have been used in the shooting was later found.

The FBI said it was offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information that leads law enforcement to identify and arrest the person or people involved in Kirk’s assassination. 

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said authorities had received more than 7,000 leads and tips from the public as of Thursday evening, and nearly 200 interviews have been conducted by investigators. 

Weapon recovered

FBI special-agent-in-charge Robert Bohls said Thursday that investigators recovered a “high-powered, bolt-action rifle,” which they believe was the weapon used in the assassination. It was found in a wooded area where the shooter fled and will be analyzed by the FBI, according to Bohls. 

Investigators also have a footwear impression, palm print and forearm imprints that will be analyzed, the FBI official said.

Timeline of “targeted attack”

Kirk was shot roughly 31 minutes after the gunman arrived on the campus, according to information from officials and video and audio sources reviewed by CBS News Confirmed. 

The shooter arrived at the campus at around 11:52 a.m. local time, officials said. The event was scheduled to begin in the UVU courtyard at noon.

A CBS News review of livestream footage and video metadata indicates Kirk was shot around 12:23 p.m., or 31 minutes after the shooter arrived. He was struck in the neck by a single gunshot.

A map produced by CBS News’ Confirmed team shows where Kirk was when he was shot — in the central courtyard of Utah Valley University, which is surrounded by campus buildings.

A university spokeswoman said Wednesday that they believed the shot was fired from the Losee Center. A law enforcement source told CBS News that the gunman appeared to have fired from the building’s roof.

The FBI released a video — timestamped at 12:23 — that appears to show a person climbing off a roof at Utah Valley University and fleeing the scene. Dispatch audio reviewed by CBS News described a person on the roof of a nearby building wearing black clothing and carrying a long rifle.

Video captured at 2:37 p.m. shows officers searching an area around a quarter mile north of the campus.

At 2:40, more than two hours after the shooting, President Trump posted on Truth Social that Kirk had died.

While authorities have not specified a potential motive for the shooting, Mason said they believe it was a “targeted attack toward one individual.” Only one shot was fired, and Kirk was the only victim, the commissioner said.

Gov. Cox called the shooting “a political assassination,” while Mr. Trump, in a video posted to Truth Social, blamed it on “radical left political violence,” which he said “has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives.” 

Charlie Kirk’s influence in politics

Kirk was shot while he was speaking at a “Prove Me Wrong” debate, a trademark event for Kirk’s Turning Point USA, which is a conservative organization focused on young people. He would hold political debates with a group that usually consisted of left-leaning attendees. 

Kirk had visited the Utah university as part of a nationwide tour of college campuses that was scheduled to continue for the next two months. About 3,000 people attended the outdoor event where he was assassinated, the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a statement.

Mr. Trump called Kirk legendary, saying, “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.”

Kirk was a close Trump ally and was credited with galvanizing younger voters during his campaign. He made it his mission to engage more young people in politics, and register them to vote. Kirk was also a close friend of the president’s son, Donald Trump, Jr. 

Kirk was the host of “The Charlie Kirk Show,” a daily conservative talk radio show and amassed millions of followers on social media. 

Kirk’s politics, however, weren’t without controversy. He pushed false claims about voter fraud after Mr. Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, stoked skepticism about the COVID-19 pandemic and spread anti-trans rhetoric. He also amplified the “Great Replacement” conspiracy, which is based on the belief that there’s a plot to replace White people with minorities. 

He was a friend of JD Vance, who said Kirk advocated “in public and private” for Mr. Trump to pick him as his running mate last year. 

“So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene,” Vance said after Kirk was killed. “He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.”

Caitlin Yilek,

Jennifer Jacobs,

Pat Milton,

Nicole Sganga,

Kaia Hubbard,

Kathryn Watson,

Erielle Delzer,

Joe Walsh and

Melissa Quinn

contributed to this report.