President Donald Trump announced Friday morning that a suspect has been arrested in connection with the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed earlier this week at Utah Valley University in Orem, as reported [1] by the New York Post.
“I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him,” Trump said during a live interview on Fox & Friends at the network’s Manhattan studio. The President explained he had been informed just minutes before his scheduled 8 a.m. appearance.
“Somebody who was very close to him turned him in,” Trump added, noting that the information came through “a minister who was involved with law enforcement.”
TRUMP CONFIRMS IT WAS THE FATHER OF THE SHOOTER WHO TOLD POLICE ABOUT HIS SON.
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— Crypto News Hunters 🎯 (@CryptoNewsHntrs) September 12, 2025 [10]
Trump declined to identify the suspect but stated his view of the case clearly. “I hope he’s going to be found guilty and I hope he gets the death penalty. What he did — Charlie Kirk was the finest person and he didn’t deserve this.”
Law enforcement has scheduled a public update later in the day. Initial reports indicated that the gunman fired a single shot from an elevated position about 200 yards from the tent where Kirk, 31, was speaking.
Witnesses said the shooter was wearing jeans, a black shirt, and a black vest, and was seen perched with a long rifle atop a building east of the campus library.
President Trump says a suspect is in custody for the execution of Charlie Kirk, after he turned into police by his fatherhttps://t.co/EAIUc7VZgS [11]
— The New York Sun (@NewYorkSun) September 12, 2025 [12]
Kirk, who was in the middle of his “American Comeback Tour,” had just finished responding to an audience question about mass shootings committed by transgender individuals when the single shot rang out.
Video from the scene showed Kirk jerking back, clutching his neck, and falling as the crowd of thousands scattered in panic.
“I didn’t watch,” Trump said of the graphic recordings circulating online. “I heard about it… I would have never made a good doctor, let me put it that way. I mean, I heard enough. I didn’t want to watch it… I didn’t want to remember Charlie that way.”
The investigation has included officers from multiple agencies: the FBI, Orem Police, Utah Department of Public Safety, and Utah Valley University Police.
FBI Director Kash Patel initially confirmed a person of interest had been taken into custody, though that individual was released after questioning. Authorities then offered a $100,000 reward for information leading to the identification and capture of the shooter.
In the aftermath, President Trump posted on Truth Social: “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.”
In a later video, Trump said he was “filled with grief and anger at the heinous assassination of Charlie Kirk” and called him a “martyr for truth and freedom.” He added: “This is a dark moment for America.”
Kirk was rushed to a nearby hospital, where emergency surgery was attempted, but he was later pronounced dead.
The conservative activist was widely known for his “Prove Me Wrong” campus debates and was a prominent voice among young conservatives. He leaves behind his wife, former Miss Arizona Erika Frantzve, and their two children.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox condemned the killing. “This is a dark day for our state, it’s a tragic day for our nation,” Cox said, describing the incident as “a political assassination.” He added, “I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty in the state of Utah.”