Clues emerging as FBI reveals 'person of interest' in Charlie Kirk’s murder

The FBI is continuing its investigation of the murder of MAGA activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who was fatally shot in Utah on Wednesday afternoon, September 10.

Many questions remain unanswered about the killing and possible motivations, but according to Wall Street Journal reporters Sadie Gurman and James Fanelli, some clues are appearing.

In article published on Thursday, September 11 — the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks — Gurman and Fanelli report, "Investigators found ammunition engraved with expressions of transgender and anti-fascist ideology inside the rifle that authorities believe was used in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, according to an internal law-enforcement bulletin and a person familiar with the investigation. The older-model .30 caliber hunting rifle was discovered in the woods near the scene of Wednesday’s shooting at Utah Valley University, wrapped in a towel with a spent cartridge still in the chamber, the sources said."

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Gurman and Fanelli add, "There were also three unspent rounds in the magazine, all with wording on them."

The WSJ reporters note, however, that officials for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) "cautioned that the investigation was still in its preliminary stages, and that investigators were still examining the ammunition."

"Kirk, 31 years old, was onstage going back and forth with a student about mass shootings involving transgender people when he was targeted, according to videos of the attack," Gurman and Fanelli explain. "The student hasn't been publicly identified."

In a September 11 post on X, formerly Twitter, the FBI's Salt Lake City office posted an image of the person of interest and wrote, "We are asking for the public's help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. 1-800-CALL-FBI."

Meanwhile, New York Times journalists Glenn Thrush and Devlin Barrett report, "According to a preliminary internal report circulated inside the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, federal and local officials recovered ammunition with the rifle that appeared to be engraved with statements 'expressing transgender and anti-fascist ideology.' But a senior law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation cautioned that report had not been verified by ATF analysts, did not match other summaries of the evidence, and might turn out to have been misread or misinterpreted."

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