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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Massive Manhunt Underway For Charlie Kirk's Killer; Vance To Escort Charlie Kirk's Body Back To Phoenix; New Video And Images Of Suspect In Kirk Killing. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired September 12, 2025 - 04:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[04:00:15]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

BRIAN ABEL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning and welcome to our viewers joining us from the United States and all around the world, I'm Brian Abel in Washington, DC. The hunt for the killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk is intensifying at this hour.

But authorities have yet to name a suspect and they're pleading for the public's help. The FBI is offering a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the assassin's identification and arrest. A person of interest who's now being called a suspect was spotted on the roof of a building near the event where Kirk was shot.

You see that person here. He dropped to the ground, then moves across some grass and a parking lot before crossing a street and heading into a wooded area. And then we have these security camera images. You can see the suspect wearing a baseball cap, American flag shirt, jeans. And on his feet you see the copper shoes there.

Utah's public safety commissioner telling NBC News they have no idea whether this individual is still in the state. The FBI is also analyzing a high powered rifle recovered from the area where the gunman is thought to have fled. Utah's governor says that when caught, the killer will face the death penalty. He also issued a warning for the public about disinformation.

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SPENCER COX, UTAH GOVERNOR: There is a tremendous amount of disinformation. We are tracking our, our team, the state team, and I'm sure the federal team as well. What we're seeing is our adversaries want violence. China, we have bots from Russia, China, all over the world that are trying to instill disinformation and encourage violence. I would encourage you to ignore those, to turn off those streams and to spend a little more time with our families. We desperately need some healing.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ABEL: Our Veronica Miracle has the latest now on the investigation.

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VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: As we head into day three of the manhunt of trying to find the assassin who killed Charlie Kirk, authorities are really calling on the public for help. They released very few details in their latest press conference, but they did release new surveillance images. They also released a new video and authorities are pointing to the moment that the suspect jumps off of the roof, as he dangles himself off and then jumps down.

They're pointing to some palm impressions that authorities say he left as well as some smudges, and they're trying to collect DNA from that. They also say that they got a shoe imprint which they say is clearly a Converse tennis shoe. And you can also see that very visible, visibly in the surveillance images that they have been releasing.

And they're asking people if they have seen this individual either in the greater area or even across the country to let them know. Take a listen to what they had to say at the press conference.

COX: We cannot do our job without the public's help right now. The public has answered our call for action. So far, we've received more than 7,000 leads and tips.

MIRACLE: And one of those thousands of tips submitted comes from a Utah Valley University student who just told CNN they submitted to the FBI that they saw an individual twice in the last two weeks on the rooftop in that area at the university. They thought it was weird in the moment. They also recalled seeing a professor trying to call this individual down during one of the times that they saw this person on the roof.

Now, they don't know if it is the suspect, but they said that when they saw the surveillance images, the student said that this person looked familiar. They've submitted this information to the FBI tip line, have not yet heard back. As this point authorities say they have conducted 200 interviews as they scour through these tips and try to get more information and try to track this suspect down.

Veronica Miracle, CNN, Los Angeles.

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ABEL: Last hour I spoke with national security analyst and friend of Charlie Kirk, Arif Halaby, about the investigation. He shared his insight on where the onus lies concerning security risk and crowd protection at these styles of events. Take a listen.

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ARIF HALABY, CRIME CRISIS ANALYST: The men that are around Charlie Kirk, I've met them many times over the years and they are very well trained, very well armed, and succeeded in their ability to protect Charlie over the years with minor incidents. This was not an expected method of assassination, although maybe in hindsight it should have been.

There's no presidential level security where there's countersnipers on rooftops, where there's welding of manhole covers and removal of mailboxes.

[04:05:00]

It's not that type of event. And Charlie was not that level of a security threat to the public in the sense that they would have to change their lifestyle because the president's coming town. Charlie was simply a person who had ideas. And those ideas. Listen, this is very important. The ideas are what scared people, not him as a person. He never raised a hand to anybody. He just said, I will pray for you.

His faith was in Christ, period. You don't have to like that. This is not a discussion of leftist and right. This is a discussion of good and evil. And I think we saw that come to bear on 9/10/2025.

ABEL: Arif, you knew Charlie Kirk personally. What would you like people to remember about him beyond what the public saw?

HALABY: Yes, that his number one goal in life was to honor Jesus Christ, his Lord and Savior. I didn't become a believer until I was 18. So for me, I had a younger life of not being a believer. And Charlie didn't quite have this exact same childhood.

But look, Charlie, his father built Trump Tower and was the architect, was the builder, if you will, for many of Mr. Trump's properties. And so Charlie grew up around President Trump, grew up around power, influence, and success. And he cared deeply about this nation.

First, his faith in God. Second, the nation and his family. And that was very important because why would you step out and speak to young students, to young men, and ask them to stand courageous. I took that from him. Even though I might be two decades older than him, his ability to be courageous was something that I hope every young man will carry with them.

Courageous in their faith, courageous in their belief, unabashedly ashamed, unashamed of being a man and being somebody who stood up for their family. I think Charlie would be honored by that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: And Charlie Kirk's casket is now in Phoenix, Arizona, where the activist lived. Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife, Usha acted as escorts for Kirk's remains, his wife and their two children as they departed Utah.

And in a somber moment, Vance placed his hand on the coffin as it was carried toward Air Force Two, the Vice President's plane. You see that moment here And Phoenix plans are in place for Kirk's funeral. They are underway right now. It's expected to be held in the coming days with President Trump attending.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you going to go to Charlie Kirk's funeral, sir?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I will be.

UNIDENATIFIED FEMALE: Do you know when that will be?

TRUMP: I believe it's in Arizona, and they've asked me to go, and I think I have an obligation to do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You know when that will be?

TRUMP: I'm hearing the next -- I hear next weekend. Whenever it is, I'll be going.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Meanwhile, the U.S. President says authorities are making big progress in the Kirk murder investigation. CNN's Kristen Holmes picks up our story.

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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: The White House still reeling after the assassination of Charlie Kirk. All eyes on the investigation, trying to get answers. We talked to a number of people within the White House who said they're monitoring every move that the FBI makes, every piece of this investigation incredibly closely.

But part of them is still in disbelief. We talked to advisers who talked about how difficult the last two days have been. Some of them moving from sadness to anger. During an interview with Scott Jennings, the chief of staff, Susie Wiles said this about Charlie's death.

SUSIE WILES, THE SCOTT JENNINGS RADIO SHOW: Charlie was very much a part of this family and maybe the highest profile MAGA person outside of those that are working here. So, I think it shook everybody to their core. I called everybody in before they went home last night and said, go home, hug your children, hug your spouse, be careful, take precautions and don't let your voice get softer.

HOLMES: And on Thursday, Vice President J.D. Vance canceled his plans to go to New York for a commemoration of 9/11, instead going to Utah to meet with Charlie Kirks family. He was a close personal friend of Kirk's, of his family, and then take Kirk's remains back to Arizona. Charlie Kirk is based in Arizona.

A very powerful video scene of J.D. Vance carrying the casket, loading it onto Air Force 2 before that plane took off and headed to Arizona for Charlie Kirk's final resting place. Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: American lawmakers are increasingly concerned about their personal safety in the wake of Kirk's killing, which has also sped up conversations about boosting their security, according to a Republican senator, Markwayne Mullen. He chairs the Legislative Branch subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee. He says discussions include the possibility of a security detail for every senator when they are back home.

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KEVIN CRAMER, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN: I like being accessible, but being accessible is starting to look like being vulnerable. So I think there's a lot of us that are concerned about that.

[04:10:07]

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, U.S. SENATE REPUBLICAN: Different people have different threat levels. Those different threat levels may require a different stance, may mean a different look for their detail. So, it's not one size fits all. We're going to have to be fluid and be able to flex when we need a flex and build a doubt down when you doubt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: While there may be bipartisan agreement with those concerns, Washington remains bitterly divided. The blame game and heightened security fears from both parties underscore how tense and bitter this point is in American politics.

Ron Brownstein is a senior political analyst and Bloomberg opinion columnist, and he spoke with us a short time ago about Kirk's assassination and the rising political violence in the US.

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RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think whatever the motivations of this shooter, we know we have a political violence problem that extends across the political spectrum. I mean, we've seen targets of the left and targets on the right and on both sides, we have seen the pace of political violence accelerate.

You know, on the day after January 6, a senior official, former senior official in the Trump Department of Homeland Security, said to me that she feared we had transitioned into our own version of the troubles, you know, of Northern Ireland in the 70s and 80s, where political violence is just much more common, much more of a backbeat to our lives than we had seen before.

That's where we are. These cycles are very difficult to get out of. You need really strong leadership across the political spectrum to discourage this kind of behavior.

But what we saw from the president, characteristically was kind of this vision of putting out fires with gasoline. We have always had a lot of political division in America. We have a lot of guns in America. We have a lot of gun deaths in America. We have a lot of gun related violence in America.

But we have not always had our disagreements, our political disagreements translate into this level of kind of political violence. You know, we did see something like this, maybe even worse in the late 60s and early 70s, assassinations, bombings, and we did get out of it.

So, you know, I don't know if we are doomed to live this way. The one thing I do know is that we are clearly on a trajectory that is going to get worse unless we make a conscious effort broadly across the society to change it.

And, you know, you don't get there when you have the President essentially saying this is a problem of left attacking right and just astonishingly ignoring both all of the attacks that have gone in the other way, and his own language over his entire career, I mean, describing his political enemies as vermin and saying they hate America.

This is something that requires a very different approach because the road we're on, I think going to continue to see more of these kind of horrific events.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: We are hearing from the last person to speak to, Charlie Kirk, who says he is struggling to grapple with the shooting. Those details are just ahead.

Plus, some young conservatives in the U.S. say Kirk's shocking assassination is making them worry about the future. Hear what they have to say coming up right after this break.

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[04:17:50]

ABEL: The FBI is hoping new images released to the public will help authorities catch the suspect in the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Officials released this video here, which they say shows a suspect fleeing the roof of a building on the Utah Valley University campus where Kirk was shot and killed.

Then the suspect heads for a wooded area. Authorities have not publicly shared information about a possible motive yet for the killing. But just before he was shot, Kirk took a question about transgender mass shooters. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know how many transgender Americans have been mass shooters over the last 10 years?

CHARLIE KIRK, CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST: Too many.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: The fatal gunshot is then heard, abruptly ending that conversation. Hunter Kozak, a student at Utah Valley University who asked Kirk that question, is now speaking out in a video shared with CNN and stressing that while he does not agree with Kirk's views, violence is not the answer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTER KOZAK, WITNESS: It's a tragedy. And I don't. It's hard to grapple with, and I'm part of a community that's struggling to grapple with it right now. And people have obviously pointed to the irony that I was -- the point that I was trying to make is how peaceful the left was right before he got shot.

And that only makes sense if we stay peaceful. As much as I disagree with Charlie Kirk, I'm on the record for how much I disagree with Charlie Kirk. But like, man, dude, he is still a human being. Have we forgotten that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: In this era dominated by social media, extreme views can feel like they dominate the conversation, sparking fears of increasingly radicalized and divisive politics. Some young conservatives say Kirk's killing may be an inflection point. CNN's Elle Reeve reports.

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SEAN MCCROSSEN, YOUNG CONSERVATIVE: I didn't want to see that video. It just kind of popped up on my timeline on X. I mean, it was horrific. It was the worst thing you can imagine. And seeing that was really devastating.

[04:20:03]

ELLE REEVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Young conservatives are in shock at the apparent assassination of Charlie Kirk.

RYAN LEONARD, YOUNG CONSERVATIVE: I take no pleasure in thinking this way, but things might be about to get a lot worse.

REEVE (voice-over): They were drawn in by the way Kirk mixed it up with ideological opponents on college campuses.

KIRK: Your life began not at birth, but at conception, about nine months before your birth.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's your opinion?

KIRK: If I wear blackface and I don't become black, why does a man who wear a dress become a woman?

MADISON CAMPBELL, YOUNG CONSERVATIVE: It was because of his quick wit. His debate style was much different than anyone really in the conservative movement had.

REEVE (voice-over): The 31-year-old founder of Turning Point USA inspired young conservatives to forcefully defend their beliefs even when outnumbered.

CHRISTOPHER BRAY, YOUNG CONSERVATIVE: I think seeing someone that was like willing to stand up to huge crowds at liberal schools was really powerful. Going to a liberal arts college in New York City and Manhattan of all places, it can be very difficult to like navigate what you can and can't talk about.

LEONARD: It was just this place where I felt like I could be free. And some of my closest friends in my life I met at these events.

REEVE (voice-over): It's hard to escape, especially in alternative media, the members of the MAGA movement who are now talking about war.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're in a war.

REEVE (voice-over): Good versus evil and an American tipping point.

TRUMP: This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we're seeing.

STEVE BANNON, FORMER TRUMP AIDE: Charlie Kirk's a casualty of war. War in this country.

CAMPBELL: Look, there is political violence on both sides and political violence on both sides is equally reprehensible.

MCCROSSEN: I think people are going to become a lot more radical. I think that goes without saying. Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, you could determine. But people are upset.

REEVE (voice-over): These young conservatives saw Kirk as a moderate and are unsettled that someone with his views would be killed.

LUCIAN WINTRICH, NEW YORK YOUNG REPUBLICAN CLUB: for somebody who I personally consider kind of a normie conservative to be murdered to be assassinated for those views. Yes, we're all struggling to process it.

CAMPBELL: The next person who starts to take his place is going to be much more far right because in order to do that, you have to almost be willing to die for your opinion. I think that is in a way beautiful. It's very, you know, it's a martyrdom. Right? Like he's beautiful to die for your beliefs.

REEVE (voice-over): Elle Reeve, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: We move now to Colorado. The name of one of the two victims of Wednesday's school shooting there is now known. The family of Matthew Silverstone says the 18-year-old was injured in the violence at Evergreen High School. At last check, he and another student are in critical condition in local hospitals.

Also Thursday, authorities identifying the shooter as 16-year-old Desmond Holly. They say he carried ammunition with him on the school bus and roamed the campus shooting out windows and lockers. Officials believe locked classrooms prevented Holly from hurting more students. They said Holly appeared to have been, quote, radicalized by some extreme network. President Trump says Charlie Kirk's widow is absolutely devastated.

Ahead, a closer look at the relationship between Charlie and Erika Kirk. Stay with us.

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[04:28:12]

ABEL: Welcome back to Early Start. I'm Brian Abel in Washington, DC. We are continuing to follow developments out of Utah, where officials are hoping the public can help track down Charlie Kirk's killer. New video obtained by CNN shows a person matching the description and images of the suspect. You see that person here walking on a residential street before the shooting.

CNN has geolocated the video to a neighborhood near Utah Valley University's campus. The person in the video appears to pause at a tree before turning and walking toward the university. Investigators also shared new video Thursday night. They say it shows the suspect at the top of your screen. There will be a zoom in here in just a second. Running across the roof of a school building and heading into a wooded area.

Utah's governor says the FBI has already received more than 7,000 tips in the case. He added that the suspect will face harsh punishment if convicted.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COX: We've been working with our attorneys getting everything that we need affidavits ready so that we can pursue the death penalty in this case and that happen here in the state of Utah.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: CNN's Kyung Lah is giving us a closer look at how the shooting unfolded.

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KYUNG LAH, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Using video and aerial image analysis, CNN pieced together the shooter's possible movements in the moments before and after Charlie Kirk was assassinated.

The shooter arrived on campus at 11:52 local time, say investigators, and went up to the roof of the Losee Center. Video taken shortly before Kirk was shot shows something on top of the roof, possibly a person.

UNIDENTFIED MALE: So there's somebody on the roof over there? Just saying. He just ran from over -- where's my finger?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From over there, ran in and now he's right there. (END VIDEOTAPE)