By Efe Ozkan
ISTANBUL (AA) - FBI Director Kash Patel said Wednesday that US conservative commentator Charlie Kirk’s shooter has been detained but did not provide any details regarding their identity.
Thanking local and state authorities for their cooperation, Patel wrote on the US social media company X’s platform that “the subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody. We will provide updates when able.”
Kirk was fatally shot during a university event in the western state of Utah on Wednesday, according to officials and bystander video.
Footage posted on social media appears to depict Kirk sitting under a canopy addressing hundreds of assembled students at Utah Valley University when a sound like a gunshot rings out, Kirk recoils, and students began fleeing en masse.
A separate video taken from close to where Kirk was speaking appears to show a bullet striking Kirk's neck, followed by a sudden, massive blood loss.
US President Donald Trump confirmed that Kirk died after being shot, saying he "is no longer with us."
"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," he wrote on his Truth Social social media platform. "He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us."
A flag at the White House was lowered to half-staff to honor Kirk.