Did the FBI arrest Charlie Kirk’s shooter? Director Kash Patel shares update regarding conservative activist’s murder investigation

Right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk died in a shooting incident on Wednesday, September 10. He was at Utah Valley University for an event when someone shot him, reportedly in the neck.

The perpetrator, however, is still at large, as confirmed by FBI Director Kash Patel. He confirmed that while they did arrest someone at first, they were released after an interrogation. Hence, the real identity of the shooter is still unknown.

Kash Patel first put out a post on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Wednesday evening that read:

"The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody. Thank you to the local and state authorities in Utah for your partnership with @fbi. We will provide updates when able."

FBI Director Kash Patel

@FBIDirectorKash

The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody. Thank you to the local and state authorities in Utah for your partnership with @fbi. We will provide updates when able.

He then quoted this tweet a couple of hours later, and wrote:

"The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency"

FBI Director Kash Patel

@FBIDirectorKash

The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement. Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency

Charlie Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika Frantzve, his daughter, and his son.

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Witnesses share their perspectives after Charlie Kirk's death

Milwaukee Prepares For The Republican National Convention (Image Source: Getty)

During his appearance at Utah Valley University, Charlie Kirk spoke about numerous things, including gun violence. However, during his talk, he was shot, which led to huge panic amongst the crowd.

People ran all around, panicking. Sara Tewell attended the event and was sitting in the fourth row, to the left of the stage. She told ABC News:

"Blood was gushing everywhere. A friend and I ran into a building and ran out and down the street just trying to get to safety."

Henry Dels, a businessman from around the area, had asked Kirk a question regarding religion. He said that just seconds after Kirk answered his question, he was shot.

Dels told ABC News:

"It happened less than a minute after I was talking to him. It seemed like a waterfall of blood was gushing out of him, it was gushing out of his neck and running down his shoulder and onto his left pec. I immediately knew he was going to die."

Another witness, Danielle, who said she was just 15 feet away from Kirk, told ABC News' affiliate station KTVX:

"You just see his neck just, like, open up and there's just, like, so much blood that just came out. I was 15 feet away, and it was really hard to witness. I'm Iike, it's not safe to run. It's not safe to get up. 'Please, God, please God, please God, because I don't want to die.'"

Danielle is a student at Brigham Young University. Many other witnesses recalled the shock and panic they felt at the incident.

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Martina Navratilova reacts to Charlie Kirk's death

The former World No. 1 tennis superstar, Martina Navratilova, has reacted to Charlie Kirk's death. She labeled the act "abhorrent", writing on X:

"Political violence is never ok. This is an abhorrent act from an abhorrent individual. It is a sad day in many ways as this kind of stuff is way too common…."

Martina Navratilova

@Martina

Political violence is never ok. This is an abhorrent act from an abhorrent individual. It is a sad day in many ways as this kind of stuff is way too common….

Notably, the Czech-American has been a big critic of Donald Trump and the far right. Navratilova and Trump were also spotted at the US Open earlier this month, but it's unclear if they interacted.

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