by Sharon Rondeau
(Sep. 10, 2025) — At 6:27 p.m. EDT, a press conference convened on the murder of conservative activist and podcaster Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University earlier Wednesday.
A person was in custody briefly, Beau Mason, director of public safety, said, who did not match the profile of the shooting suspect.
It is believed the murder “was a targeted attack,” he said, and politically-motivated.
The second speaker, an FBI agent, extended his condolences to Kirk’s family and those who witnessed the horrific event. As he spoke at 6:30 p.m., Fox News reported that FBI Director Kash Patel has said the “suspected shooter is in custody.”
“It is a tragic day for our nation,” the third speaker, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, said. “We are celebrating 250 years of the founding of this great nation…this great experiment on which we embarked 250 years ago…today, a life was taken. Charlie Kirk was first and foremost a husband and a dad to two young children. He was also very much politically involved, and that’s why he was here on campus. Charlie believed in the power of free speech and debate, to shape ideas and to persuade people…”
Cox echoed Patel’s report that “a person is in custody.”
“I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty in the state of Utah,” he said.
“Our country is broken,” he continued, referencing the assassination attempts on Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, Donald Trump and other prominent political figures. “We mourn as a nation,” he said of Kirk’s death.
“I don’t care what his politics were; I care that he was an American,” Cox added. He said people must reflect on what America is today and “try to find a way to stop hating our fellow Americans.”
Upon taking questions, Cox answered in the affirmative the murder was likely caused by “a long-distance shot from a roof.”
The local police chief, Jeff Long, said his department is “small” but had prepared for the event as it normally would and had six officers present. There was a department presence at the event where Kirk spoke, he said, as well as Kirk’s own security.
Cox ended the Q&A session at 6:42 p.m. He asked “everyone, everywhere to pray for the family” and the nation. “We need it more than ever,” he concluded.
President Trump needs to suspend Habeus Corpus immediately, this is getting us into a civil war
This was more than a murder. It was a political assassination to silence a man who they could not silence in debate. He was an inspiration to our youth. I enjoyed watching his podcasts. He will be greatly missed. Our condolences and prayers go out to his family.