Police and federal agents launched a manhunt Thursday for the sniper who fatally shot conservative activist Charlie Kirk while he was speaking about gun violence at a university event.
Kirk, 31, a podcast-radio commentator and an influential ally of Donald Trump, is credited with helping build the Republican president's base among younger voters. He was gunned down Wednesday in what Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called a political assassination.
The slaying, captured in graphic detail in video clips that rapidly spread around the internet, occurred during a midday event attended by 3,000 people at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) south of Salt Lake City.
In one clip, blood could be seen gushing from Kirk's neck immediately after a shot rang out and he slumped in his chair. Kirk, co-founder and president of the conservative student group Turning Point USA, was pronounced dead at a local hospital hours later.
His murder stirred immediate expressions of outrage and denunciations of political violence from Democrats and Republicans alike.
