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The Source with Kaitlan Collins
Soon: FBI Update On Manhunt For Charlie Kirk's Killer; FBI Officials Give Update On Charlie Kirk Shooting Manhunt; Officials Share New Video Of Kirk Shooting Suspect. Aired 9-10p ET
Aired September 11, 2025 - 21:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[21:00:00]
PATTI DAVIS, DAUGHTER OF FORMER PRES. RONALD REAGAN, ACTRESS AND AUTHOR, "DEAR MOM AND DAD": --I'm sure they hear about that too.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, ANDERSON COOPER 360: Yes.
DAVIS: You know?
COOPER: Yes.
DAVIS: It's inescapable.
COOPER: Yes.
Well, Patti Davis, thank you so much. It's really a pleasure to talk to you.
DAVIS: Thank you for having me. Thanks.
COOPER: There's going to be a press Conference at 09:30 p.m., just about 30 minutes from now, that obviously CNN will bring you live.
That's it for us. We'll see you tomorrow night. The news continues. "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now.
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, CNN HOST, THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS: The FBI director just arrived in Utah, and is about to give an update, this hour, on the manhunt for Charlie Kirk's killer.
I'm Kaitlan Collins. And this is THE SOURCE.
As we come on the air tonight, we're told the FBI is about to provide an update on the hunt for the person who killed Charlie Kirk. We'll take you to Utah, the moment that that happens, and as we hear from officials tonight, on what, if any, updates they have to provide.
We did just get more photos of what investigators are describing as a person of interest in this case, pleading with the public to help identify this person.
We're going to have a live report from the scene, in Utah, in just a moment. And these images tonight, as well as this striking one, showcase the significance of this moment. This is the President of the United States, tonight, attending the Yankees game. You can't help but notice the bulletproof glass in front of him, now more regular part of the President's public appearances. And it's a reminder, not only on the 24th anniversary of 9/11 that he's here in New York to commemorate, but also of the heightened fear of political violence in this moment.
This comes as the full force of the federal government is hunting for the person who murdered Charlie Kirk. The frantic police work standing in stark contrast to the slow, painful morning being felt by some of the most powerful people in government tonight. For them, Charlie Kirk was more than just a political advocate. He was their friend.
The Vice President flew to Utah today to meet with Charlie Kirk's family, offering Air Force Two to fly his remains home to Phoenix. In a somber scene, the Vice President personally escorted his body on the tarmac, placing a hand on Charlie Kirk's casket, as he walked alongside uniformed personnel.
In a lengthy eulogy, just before that, the Vice President wrote this about Charlie Kirk and their friendship, saying: Charlie Kirk was a true friend. The kind of guy you could say something to and know it would always stay with him. I am on more than a few group chats with Charlie and people he introduced me to over the years. We celebrate weddings and babies, bust each other's chops, and mourn the loss of loved ones. We talk about politics and policy and sports and life.
Earlier today, at the White House, the President said he does plan to attend Charlie Kirk's funeral when it happens, after he spoke to his widow, on the phone today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I spoke to Erika, his wife, and we had a long talk, and she's devastated. She's absolutely devastated, as you can imagine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: That comes as the FBI director has just landed in Utah, to lead the effort to find Charlie Kirk's killer. The Bureau is now offering a $100,000 reward for any help in doing so.
In the woods, near the spot of Utah Valley University where Kirk had been shot and was killed, the Feds found a Mauser Bolt-Action .30-06 caliber rifle, equipped with a long distance scope. A single expended shell casing was still actually in the rifle when they found it.
A number of things were written on the rifle and the ammunition as well. Our sources have cautioned that the topics are all over the map, and that they believe it's too early to determine a motive here.
Before traveling, the President attended a 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon today, where he announced that he will award Charlie Kirk, posthumously, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. And he told us this, as he left the Pentagon, about where this investigation stands.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRUMP: He was a unique man, but uh... we're doing the best we can.
COLLINS: Anything on the investigation, or anything on the latest that you've heard from the FBI, or Kash Patel?
TRUMP: No, what they've reported to me so far is pretty much what you're seeing on the news is what it is. They have a virtual manhunt out there, so we'll see what happens. We hope we get him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: And as we work on that investigation and continue to follow where the experts are and the investigators are, I want to start with CNN' Ed Lavandera, who's on the ground in Utah tonight.
And Ed, obviously, there's a lot of questions now. This just announced press conference that we just heard from officials, and this new photo of what they are describing as the person of interest. What's the latest that you understand about the search tonight?
ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are waiting to see what kind of developments are unfolding.
[21:05:00]
Remember, it was about seven hours ago, where there was supposed to be a previous press briefing that was canceled. We were told that it was canceled because there're a rapidly developing situation that caused the cancelation of that. But it has been kind of radio silence since then. So, we don't know exactly what is at play here.
We thought that there might be some possibility that there was a development in the -- in a looming arrest, or some sort of more information on who the suspect and the gunman might be. But so far, we haven't heard anything.
And since then, we know that the FBI director, Kash Patel, is here. He was -- arrived here on the campus, was seen walking past the site where the shooting site happened, which is just beyond that glass wall there you see in the distance.
And we are now awaiting this press conference, Kaitlan, and it is supposed to start at the bottom of the hour. It involves the Special Agent in Charge here in Utah, as well as the FBI director, and the Governor here, and the head of the State Police as well. So, we'll see what kind of information we're going to get.
But we do know, as we've been reporting throughout the day, there has been some developments. You talk about the pictures, and information about the weapon that was found. All of that on the other side of campus, where we have spent much of the day reporting, in the neighborhood on the other side of the building, where it is believed that the gunman was on the rooftop there, and was able to slip away from this campus, in the midst of all the chaos, as thousands of young people were running away from the scene after the shot had been fired here, the deadly shot that killed Charlie Kirk.
And we know that there have been investigators combing through that area, trying to find, and that's how they were able to find the weaponry in the wooded area close by there.
But it still kind of doesn't really answer the question as to how exactly this gunman was able to slip out in these chaotic moments, and what -- and exactly how he was able to pull that off. We are now well over 24 hours in this manhunt, and still no indication as to when it might come to an end, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Yes.
And when we spoke to the President earlier, he was basically saying what he knows is everything that we know, everything that's been made public so far.
Ed Lavandera, obviously we'll continue to check back in with you.
And we are going to bring you that press conference with the FBI Director live, when it happens. So stay tuned for those updates.
Also joining me here is CNN's Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst, John Miller.
And John, just first on these new pictures that came out tonight. They're saying this is the person of interest. We can show those pictures again. They're obviously putting this information out there. That seems to signal they don't have anyone yet, and they're still looking for the public's help here.
JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT & INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: And I think we've been seeing that all day, which is, they're not getting the adequate leads from the pictures they had, but they have another set of pictures, so they expand the number of pictures.
It also means they expanded their video canvas and came up with new pictures.
It also means that when they examined that rooftop, which was the sniper's perch, they pushed that out to the wooded area, and that came up with a gun, which meant they could push their video canvas out beyond that into the streets, and say, Well, maybe this is where he left in a car, and do more video canvas there.
They are expanding the investigation's perimeter, and that is giving them more opportunity to reach out to the public.
COLLINS: Yes, and when it comes to this, and finding the gun in that wooded area nearby, where Charlie Kirk was assassinated, a forensics expert told CNN that they believed it was a supersonic -- a single supersonic bullet. What does that mean, in terms of the investigation, and how that helps them in trying to track it down from the firearm perspective?
MILLER: So, the gun is an enormous discovery in terms of opportunity.
And let's break it down. One, you run the gun through the serial number, and you find out where was this sold, and when. I've seen images of that gun. That's an old gun. I mean, that gun might date back to the 80s or 90s, even before that.
COLLINS: It's like a hunting rifle. Is that right, basically?
MILLER: It's a hunting rifle.
COLLINS: OK.
MILLER: It's a Mauser .30-06 with a scope on it.
But let's say -- let's say there isn't a record available. There's other opportunities. You've got the ballistics inside, which you can match to the bullet that killed the victim, Charlie Kirk.
You have an individual who laid down with this gun in a sniper's position, on that rooftop, for apparently some length of time. Did his face brush against the barrel? Did he leave a fingerprint? Is there skin cell DNA?
Now, all of these things are great to have, but if they don't match something in the criminal records, they don't help you till you have a suspect, and then you can use them to connect them with that gun. But it's key evidence.
COLLINS: Well, and in terms of that, looking at that, it also found that, based on the visual evidence, the shooter was about a 150 yards away, roughly, from Charlie Kirk, which was kind of our sense of this last night.
[21:10:00]
But when it comes to this, and where this investigation stands, we're waiting to hear from the FBI director who just got there, on the ground in Utah.
What are you going to be listening for here, in terms of updates and what it tells you about how this investigation is going? Because we've been hearing a lot of mixed messages last night. Did they have someone in custody? Was it a suspect? Was it a person of interest? Now that they'll all be together at this press conference, what are you going to be listening for?
MILLER: So, I'm going to be listening for, What's the ask? Are they going to show us more additional pictures? Are we going to take the next step because they have it? Are they going to say, Here is video, look at this person, how they walk, their gait. Are they going to expand what's available? Or are they going to announce that they have something, and we're going to have to wait to hear that.
COLLINS: Yes.
MILLER: I mean, the idea that the FBI director flies out--
COLLINS: Is that normal, typical?
MILLER: So, that is not normal, it is not typical. But this is a new kind of FBI director as well, who's very engaged in social media and very engaged in the Bureau's message.
COLLINS: And also probably personally knew Charlie Kirk, as so many people in the Cabinet, and in the top levels of the administration, did. I mean he helped with the staffing of the administration, after Trump won the election.
MILLER: So, this is very personal to his boss, the President, and likely very personal to him.
COLLINS: Yes.
John Miller, we're going to keep you on standby, obviously, so we can be listening to that press conference, and see what those updates are as we're waiting to see what the update is.
One thing that we do know is clear tonight is that the fear of this moment is being felt everywhere, especially in Washington, where members of Congress have been making changes to their own schedules, in light of what happened to Charlie Kirk.
We've got the Arizona Democratic senator, Ruben Gallego, who postponed a town hall out of what they described as an abundance of caution, not just for him, but also for the attendees.
My next source is a political scientist and a leading expert on violent extremism and domestic terror. And her latest book is "How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them." Barbara F. Walter.
And Barbara, it's great to have you here.
Because, obviously this has been something that has shaken people at the White House to their core. We've heard from Democrats and Republicans, and the House Speaker Mike Johnson, last night, saying that there was a deluge of lawmakers saying they are worried about their safety, even more so after seeing what happened to Charlie Kirk.
BARBARA F. WALTER, PROFESSOR, UC SAN DIEGO SCHOOL OF GLOBAL POLICY AND STRATEGY, EXPERT ON CIVIL WARS, VIOLENT EXTREMISM & DOMESTIC TERROR, AUTHOR, "HOW CIVIL WARS START": Absolutely.
And I think it's important to give your listeners, the big picture. And the big picture is that political violence, ideologically-driven violence, in this country, has been increasing since 2008, and the vast majority of that has been perpetrated by far-right groups. Most of them have been white nationalist groups, but some of them have been anti-federal government groups. What's important about what happened with Charlie Kirk -- and again, we don't know exactly who did it. But if it turns out that it's somebody from the far-left? That will confirm another pattern we're seeing, that even though most of the violence until now has been done by the far-right, we're starting to see an uptick from the far-left, and that means that we're starting, perhaps, to have a spiral effect.
The other thing that's really important for your viewers to watch is that oftentimes, in the end game of democratic decline, when you have a group that would like to end democracy, and would like to sort of kick the door shut on democracy? They're looking for crises like this.
They're looking for -- it could be an assassination attempt, or a terrorist attack, or something that scares the public to exploit, and they want to use that to declare emergency powers. And not only that, but also begin to demonize the opposition. And you've seen some of that in the last 24 hours, where Laura Loomer, for example, has talked about how dangerous the left is, and how violent the left is. You see -- you've heard some of that rhetoric from Donald Trump himself.
COLLINS: Yes.
F. WALTER: I don't think we're at a Reichstag -- Reichstag moment. But this is something that could be exploited by the far-right to argue that we need a strong man in power, and it's for the good and for the protection of the American public.
COLLINS: Yes, one -- and to what you were saying a second ago about who is committing the political violence. I mean, people would also point to the attacks on Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, the shooting at the congressional baseball practice with Steve Scalise obviously nearly losing his life, obviously. President Trump as well.
F. WALTER: Yes.
COLLINS: And so, obviously this is something that clearly has concerned so many people, on both sides of the political aisle.
F. WALTER: Exactly. Exactly.
COLLINS: Barbara Walter, thank you so much for joining us tonight.
F. WALTER: My pleasure.
COLLINS: And as I said, we are going to hear from the FBI and law enforcement officials any moment now, as they are going to be holding another press briefing, in Utah, on the manhunt for Charlie Kirk's killer, as it's very much still underway. We're going to bring you that live, when it happens, and see what updates, if any, officials have to provide.
And also up next. We are now hearing tonight from the last person to ask Charlie Kirk a question, at that Utah event. His powerful message, next.
[21:15:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Any moment now, we're expecting a press briefing here, in moments, from the FBI director, Kash Patel, the Utah governor, Spencer Cox, and other top law enforcement officials, who are -- on the latest in the manhunt that's underway for the killer of Charlie Kirk. We'll bring that to you live and those updates when it happens.
And it comes tonight, as the last person to speak to Charlie Kirk is now speaking publicly, after one of the most transformational conservative media stars was assassinated just feet away from him.
[21:20:00]
Hunter Kozak is a student at Utah Valley University. He actually just asked Charlie Kirk a question about shootings, seconds before a single bullet struck and killed him.
Kozak shared this video message to CNN tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTER KOZAK, STUDENT ASKING CHARLIE KIRK A QUESTION WHEN HE WAS SHOT: 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 -- 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? Are we create -- like -- I stand by so little of everything that he said, but one of the things that he stood by was conversation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: And joining me tonight is someone who knew Charlie Kirk, through his young rise into a powerful political force. The former Republican Congressman, Joe Walsh.
And just to hear Hunter there, I mean, you can tell how shaken up he is by what happened to him yesterday, and being that person, who was engaging with Charlie Kirk, when this happened, and when he was -- when he was murdered in broad daylight.
You just -- you got to feel for him, when you hear what he's going through tonight.
JOE WALSH, FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE (R-IL), HOST, "THE SOCIAL CONTRACT WITH JOE WALSH": Oh, Kaitlan, I wish all of America could hear what Hunter just said, because what Hunter just said is where all of America has got to get to. Think about what he said. He probably disagrees with everything that Charlie Kirk stood for, but peacefully, but peacefully. And that's where we've got to be. And look, you know my history with Charlie. And this may be an odd thing, because, like Hunter, I grew to disagree with everything Charlie Kirk said, these last number of years. But I feel like he was a son to me, because I met him when he was 16, I helped him start Turning Point USA. He helped get me elected to Congress in that Tea Party class. We were political buddies. And then Trump came along, and we went our separate ways and disagreed. But again, generally, always tried to do it respectfully.
COLLINS: And that was the point that Hunter was making.
For people who didn't watch the clips, understandably, from yesterday, he was questioning Charlie Kirk about transgender -- mass shooters who are transgender, and basically saying -- making -- he was trying to make the point that that statistic is very small, compared to all of the people who commit mass shootings.
And so when you hear him there, and he's talking about the point that he was trying to make, which he said was that, The left is peaceful, it's clearly something he's struggling with in the -- in the responses that he has seen to Charlie Kirk's murder.
WALSH: Yes, and I'm sure, Kaitlan, that Hunter abhors Charlie's take, and where he stood on transgender Americans, as did I. But what Hunter said was so powerful. You can abhor someone like Charlie Kirk's belief -- beliefs, and utterly condemn murder, utterly condemn political violence, and you've got to make that distinction. And I've had to make that distinction with Charlie Kirk.
And Kaitlan, so beautifully, Hunter right there, demonstrates for the whole country that distinction, that you can abhor the man's belief but, as Hunter said, he's a man. He was a son, a husband and a father. Let's understand that difference.
COLLINS: And, I just wonder, as someone who is a former elected official, how you're seeing this tonight.
Because we've heard from a lot of people who say, Yes, this has put this into perspective. Death threats were already out of control, as the House Speaker Mike Johnson was telling us last night, and now this has changed it, in terms of people feeling incredibly uncomfortable and unsafe, and even some lawmakers tonight canceling town halls and public events, because they're worried not just for themselves, but for the people who attend those events.
WALSH: Oh, Kaitlan, absolutely, this is the world we live in now. And as a former member -- look, any member of Congress, and I've heard from members on both sides, they do not feel safe out in public anymore.
What's so jarring about what happened to Charlie is he's not an elected official. A private citizen was assassinated. So, I do think there's going to be real thought and reform to more security. Because, again, we're living in this world, and I don't think that it's going to abate anytime soon.
[21:25:00]
I'm really worried about, as one of your earlier guest talked about, kind of like the circular here thing, now that that both sides, right, are engaging in political violence. This is really, really a scary, scary place to be in.
COLLINS: Yes, and we've heard from leaders in Congress who say it's time to take the temperature down. Markwayne Mullin, last night, was saying, to hit a reset button and rethink both -- he said, the left and the right here. I wonder what you'd like to hear from people, given what would you -- you would like to hear, from elected leaders on this front?
WALSH: Well, look, Kaitlan, you know what I think about Trump. We're not going to get any leadership from the White House, and he's not going to make any effort to unify the country.
What I'd love to see is some of my former colleagues, I'd love to see Republican and Democratic members, together, go out on town halls, together, together, go out on the road, and make statements together and condemn everything, all of this violence. I think members of Congress, generally, will toe the line and do well. I'd love to see them come together.
What I worry about, Kaitlan, are the media voices, because a lot of the reaction we've seen to the killing of Charlie, especially the media voices on the right, declaring war, and, We're going to go after the left. We've got to tamp that stuff down immediately.
COLLINS: Yes, and just to remind everyone what we're seeing here, we're waiting for a press conference from the FBI director, Kash Patel.
We're also going to hear from the Utah governor, Spencer Cox, who, last night, so eloquently put into words what so many people were feeling in the wake of this assassination.
I think we have this moment, where it's what President Trump, given what you just said about him, Joe, what he said, last night, in his Oval Office address, compared to what he said today, as he was leaving the White House, when he was asked by a reporter what he wants his supporters to do, and how he believes they should respond to this.
And basically, what he told reporters today was -- when the reporter invoked Charlie Kirk's position of nonviolence, the President said that he would like to see nonviolence as a response from his supporters to this.
Some people were pointing out what he said in his Oval Office address, last night, where he was blaming leftists. He was mentioning judges and the media.
Let me just let you listen to the President.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REPORTER: How do you want to see your supporters respond to this? Charlie Kirk was a big advocate of nonviolence and free speech on campus. How do you want your supporters to respond, sir?
TRUMP: I think that way. He was, he was an advocate of nonviolence. That's the way I'd like to see people respond.
I'm really concerned for our country. We have a great country. We have a radical left group of lunatics out there, just absolute lunatics. And we're going to get that problem solved. I'm only concerned for the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: What do you make of those two comments?
WALSH: Again, Kaitlan, he just can't help himself. He has to attack half the country. None of that, none of -- I don't want to hear the radical left or the radical right.
The President has got to say, We're all Americans. Stop it. Stand down, damn it, and stop it. This is not how we resolve our differences in America. All of us. All of us. And no targeting certain sides or certain groups.
I don't think he's capable of it, Kaitlan. But I do think members of Congress are.
COLLINS: Yes.
Former Congressman Joe Walsh, we'll continue to see what those members of Congress have to say about this, going forward. Really appreciate you joining tonight. Thank you for your time.
WALSH: Thanks.
COLLINS: And we're continuing to monitor what you're seeing here. Officials clearly are preparing the lecterns for this press conference that we are expecting any moment now, from the FBI director, and the Utah governor, Spencer Cox, as we are waiting to hear what updates, if any, they provide on this manhunt for Charlie Kirk's killer.
My law enforcement sources are with me as well.
John Miller is back.
Charles Ramsey, who is the former Philadelphia Police Commissioner and D.C. Police Chief.
Also joining us, Donell Harvin, who is the former D.C. Chief of Homeland Security and Intelligence.
And Chief Ramsey, I'd like to just ask you. Given, we know they have the gun that they recovered in the wooded area nearby where the shooting happened. They also have a footwear impression, a palm print and forearm imprints. How much hope does that give you in terms of being able to identify someone soon?
CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST, FORMER WASHINGTON, D.C. POLICE CHIEF, FORMER PHILADELPHIA POLICE COMMISSIONER: Well, they actually, today, revealed a lot of new information, in the earlier press conference. You just listed the things that they actually have found. They have released photos. Hopefully, that leads them in the direction of the individual who committed the crime.
I think, personally, the photo is going to be of most value. Someone, somewhere, hopefully will recognize this individual, and that will at least put them on the right track to apprehending this person.
[21:30:00]
So, a lot of information. I look forward to this press conference, because hopefully they have even more information to be able to provide to us.
COLLINS: Can I just ask you about the $100,000 reward that the FBI offered earlier, when it comes to helping locating him and finding him? Is that typical in the range of what you've seen? Or what does that -- what does that amount tell you about where they're -- how they're feeling behind-the-scenes, if anything?
RAMSEY: Well, I believe that's a little higher than normal. But even here in Philadelphia, and we did in Washington, D.C., we had a standing $20,000 reward on any homicide. And so, it's not uncommon to have a reward associated with a particular case. Of course, this one is very high profile. So, having a $100,000 does not seem unreasonable to me.
COLLINS: And John Miller, you're back with me.
We were just talking about the footwear impression, a palm print and forearm imprints. I don't know if that's from him while -- when he was lying down on the roof. Is that where the forearm imprints came from?
MILLER: It's in the gravel, that they documented it.
COLLINS: OK.
MILLER: It's the kind of thing when they have a suspect. They can measure that suspect against that shooter's position and say they're consistent or not consistent.
COLLINS: But can we freeze on this picture right here? Because you pointed out something -- that second picture, if we can go back to the one we were just on. His hand is very close to the railing, like he's almost about to touch it, but he's not. And as you noted, he was using his forearms and his elbows to navigate these stairs. He is very intentionally not touching that handrail.
MILLER: His hands are balled into fists as he walks. He is trying to avoid touching those railings. He is trying to avoid leaving DNA anywhere. Now, we see he's not wearing gloves, you know? Here it looks like he wants to touch the railing, but he isn't. At some point, he's going to encounter a doorknob or something he's got to push through. We don't know if he gloved up later. But in these pictures, we never see him make physical contact with his hands to leave a print or DNA, which is likely deliberate.
COLLINS: Yes, and obviously, we can see he's wearing all black. He's got this backpack. We believe he fled through a neighborhood. Obviously, they've been looking at Ring camera footage, anything of that nature.
What else are they sorting through tonight?
MILLER: They're going backwards, because the particular perch he used, to take this long-distance shot, is the kind that you couldn't guess, you couldn't look at from the bottom and say, That will work. You needed to know what is that line of sight. Is it direct? Does it go to where my target is going to be?
As they go backwards through that building, it is likely that they are going to find an earlier trip from him. And then the question is going to be, how good a planner was he? Was he masked up with a hat and glasses, and not touching things then? Or is there a better image of him from before, while he was doing an early reconnaissance, if that's what happened?
COLLINS: And maybe a familiarity with the school, potentially, and the campus? We were talking about how, with Senator John Curtis of Utah, last night, how interconnected the whole campus, kind of is in terms of, of how it's structured.
MILLER: It is. And that particular building, the amphitheater that Charlie Kirk is at the bottom of, slopes down. And then there's a building here. And this is the highest building. It's the furthest, but it's also the tallest, which gives him that sniper's view.
But he also enters wearing what? He's wearing this sweatshirt. It's a wounded war veteran sweatshirt. Now, one might take that to say, Wow, he's a good shot from a long distance, maybe he's a wounded war veteran. Another investigator might say, Well, wait a minute, what's in Losee Hall? That's where the Veterans Program for the school is and does their meetings. So, did he wear that deliberately so that he would--
COLLINS: To try to blend in?
MILLER: Exactly. These are -- these are questions that are indicators. But they point to, if that's true, planning.
COLLINS: Well, and Donell Harvin, you're also here with us.
And what we were told today is that they've gotten more than 200 tips, in the last 24 hours that they're sorting through, and maybe more even since that update from -- that's from the public. And so, when you're sorting through those tips, obviously people are trying to be helpful and say anything that they think could be credible or an indication here. But how do you sort through all of that?
DONELL HARVIN, FORMER WASHINGTON, D.C. CHIEF OF HOMELAND SECURITY & INTEL: It's difficult. And we used to have to do that all the time. We would get tips and leads at the local, state level, and we would have to escalate those things based on a protocol to the FBI.
And I will tell you that a lot of these good tips, and John knows this, comes from online detectives. They start looking at this stuff, their home, their basement. They love this type of stuff. I've already seen stuff about where this shirt was purchased, and looking at the hat.
And so, a lot of these individuals can provide some information. They actually have direct lines to their state and local law enforcement, and they're a little bit more credible than other folks.
[21:35:00]
Now, that's not to discount people who were there on the ground. If you were there on the ground, you had a phone out for any time, whether you're taking a photo, a still photo, or video, you have a valuable piece of evidence, and law enforcement will be able to call, potentially put together a picture of what happened on that day.
COLLINS: Well, and I was thinking about that earlier, when we were looking at all of the kids, because there were so many of these college kids who were there, fleeing. I mean, obviously kids are always -- college students are always on their phone, taking selfies, taking videos.
I mean, you could see several of them, from the reaction videos, earlier, and how that helps police, as they're sorting through that basically, of is there something in the background that maybe it doesn't stand out to a regular person like me, but would stand out to an investigator?
HARVIN: Absolutely. We -- unfortunately, we've had so many mass type of shootings or terrorist events that, particularly the FBI, has gotten really good at getting a large amount of data, good information, have a large amount of data from a lot of people. That's why they put out these calls for photos, videos, anything. And so, they have a really streamlined process, a lot of agents towards this, and they're really good at doing this.
And, once again, if you're just taking this photo, like the shot you see, they can zoom in on things, they can see things that you may not understand or think or appreciate. And so, this is their job, this is why they're the best law enforcement agency in the history of law enforcement.
COLLINS: Yes, and let's see what updates they have for us, any moment. Everyone, I want to everyone to standby, because I want all of your expertise, as we're listening to this press conference, from the FBI, from law enforcement officials, from the Governor of Utah. That is going to happen any moment.
We're going to take a quick commercial break. We'll be right back, to take that press conference live.
[21:40:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: At any moment, we are going to hear from the Director of the FBI, Kash Patel, who is on the ground in Utah. He'll be appearing alongside the Governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, and other top law enforcement officials. They're set to provide an update on the manhunt for Charlie Kirk's murderer, which is very much still underway, tonight. We're going to take that live when it happens here on CNN.
And this comes after a heartbreaking day for many people inside the White House today. Look at this photo that we just got in. This shows Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika Kirk, as she is getting off Air Force Two with the second lady, Usha Vance, and the Vice President JD Vance. That comes after they went to Utah to pick them up on Air Force Two, and take back Charlie Kirk's remains and his family to Arizona, where they live tonight.
Of course, in that somber moment, as they are waiting to hear more themselves on this investigation, and where this stands, my law enforcement sources are back with me.
And Chief Ramsey, one thing that I was talking to close friends of Charlie Kirk's about, over the last 24 hours, is security threats were not new to him. This was something that he had dealt with. Obviously, he had a security presence of his own that was there with him at this event. And I wonder how investigators are evaluating and looking at those past threats, when it comes to trying to figure out if there's any connection to this shooting.
RAMSEY: Well, that's definitely part of the investigation. They'll be looking at all of that, because whoever it is that did this could very well have made a threat, early on, they'll be looking at social media, in general, to see if there's any conversation specific to him. So yes, that'll be a big part of the investigation.
As far as security on the ground, there'll come a time, when that's going to be reviewed as to whether or not security, especially for controversial figures that speak, whether it's at a university or elsewhere, the steps that need to be taken to do everything you can to keep these locations secure.
But right now, the main focus is on finding this shooter. And so, they'll be looking at everything, including past threats that may have been made to Mr. Kirk.
COLLINS: Chief Ramsey, how should we be thinking about this timeline? Because obviously they're releasing new pictures tonight. We don't know, but that would seem to indicate they do not have this person in custody right now. But is this a typical time period? Does it differ for any case like this? I wonder, how you are thinking about that tonight.
RAMSEY: Every case is different. But the one thing that is consistent, that is time is not your friend, when it comes to investigating a homicide. So, you want to try to get as much information as you can, as quickly as you can.
That doesn't mean that it's not solvable. It just makes it more and more difficult. The offender could be further and further away from the scene. Memories start to get foggy. People are watching TV, and it starts to interfere with what they actually saw, so their ability to recount what actually took place sometimes can be tinged a little bit, as a result of the time that's passed, and conversations and so forth.
And so, time is just not your ally, it's just not. But this is still just a little more than 24 hours. So, they're hot on the trail. This is a fresh case, relatively anyway, and they're doing everything they possibly can.
[21:45:00]
They will solve this case. It's just a question of when. And the one tip that comes in is all this -- that's needed. I think back to -- when I was in D.C., we had the D.C. sniper in 2002. We had -- it was cold for three weeks. And then it was a 48-hour period, right at the end, when we got on the right track and wound up catching two individuals responsible for the series of homicides there. So you just never know. And all it takes is one tip.
COLLINS: Yes, that's a really good point, in terms of how we're looking at this.
And John Miller, in terms of just the tips that are coming in, how they're looking at this, and in turn, the timeline here of how this develops, what stands out to you?
MILLER: These tips come in and you do triage, which is, you don't throw any tips away, but there are certain tips where, as you begin to check them out, and things fit together, that will go to the top of the pile.
In the course of this investigation, as we know, they've had one suspect in custody, who they ultimately released because he alibied. You had another suspect that they were looking at hard, last night, who is likely not going to be the person. But they have brought other people in. They have been out to interview people. They've gotten a lot of names.
And I hearken back -- you know, I think of Chief Ramsey, in the Washington sniper. I hearken back to Luigi Mangione, where they had great suspects, where all the pieces fit, that turned out not to be the shooter. It was a tip from somebody in a McDonald's that turned that case from, We have nobody on the radar, to He's right here, and he's got the murder weapon with him. It's the fluidity of these cases. They can turn on a dime, or they can build slowly.
COLLINS: Well, and we were talking about how careful this guy was, trying not to touch the rails. You mentioned he had his fist balled up basically, to maybe just remind himself not to touch the rails.
I mean, that tip with Luigi Mangione being in a McDonald's in the middle of Pennsylvania. I mean, that's a crucial tip -- or a crucial mistake on his part. I mean, how much are they counting on, on this guy to make a mistake, so they can't find him?
MILLER: A lot. The littlest mistake he makes may be the biggest break they get.
And remember, they borrow from each other. Luigi Mangione was the one who inscribed bullets. We have that again, in this case. Thomas Crooks, who tried to assassinate Donald Trump in Pennsylvania, brought to the fore, this sniper from the high ground of a rooftop and a long distance away. This offender has combined those two things.
But there's also offender characteristics that they may discuss at this press conference. They may talk about the characteristics of a sniper, as someone who's going to be a planner, someone who's well- organized, someone who's patient, someone who may have a god complex, because that is what a sniper ultimately is, the power to take life away from somebody, from a great distance. They may talk about the type of people that they would be interested in hearing about, if there's something else that fits this.
And don't forget leakage. In so many of these cases--
COLLINS: What do you mean by that?
MILLER: It's a term used by the behavioral scientists in the Analysis Unit at the FBI, the profilers, where they say their studies show, before these actors act, and sometimes after, they drop these hints. They kind of want the credit, but they don't want to get caught. And they say things before and after that, especially after, you can put together, they'll probably be talking about indicators to look out for.
COLLINS: They were supposed to give an update earlier, and they canceled it or postponed it, saying there were a lot of rapidly- developing changes. What did you read into that, if anything? Or is that just sometimes, We don't have enough to update on, so we're going to hold off?
MILLER: Well, I read two things into that.
One, they have a hot suspect on the line, and they don't want to come out with an announcement, when they can stay focused on that and play that lead out.
The other is that the FBI director was considered coming, and that they might want to delay the news conference so he could lead it, which is just one of the lessons you learn in the course of being in the -- in the vortex in Washington, about who wants to be there for what announcement. On the idea that it might give the announcement more power and more reach, if the FBI director was leading it himself.
COLLINS: And I'm just thinking we're going to see the Governor of Utah, Spencer Cox, here. We've had him on the show before. He was at an event, just a couple of days ago, with the Maryland governor, Wes Moore.
And Governor Moore was saying, Anytime a governor says, like this hasn't happened yet, or, they haven't experienced a massive tragedy, since being a leader, Governor Moore said, Just wait your turn, because it will come.
And Governor Spencer Cox was there and said, Well, thankfully, you know, referencing the Key Bridge and what happened in Maryland, That hasn't happened to me yet. And of course, the next day, now he's dealing with a massive manhunt that's underway in his state, for the murderer of Charlie Kirk.
It just speaks to the moment that these leaders find themselves in.
[21:50:00]
MILLER: And it speaks to the pace of this, which is two people murdered at the Washington Jewish Museum, by an offender who came from Chicago, and ran a business meeting that day and did this, after work.
To the 345 Park Avenue shooting, an individual who had a problem with the NFL, because he thought they were responsible for not curing his headaches.
To the Minneapolis assassination of these politicians.
To the school shooting, last week.
I mean the drumbeat and the continuum of these things. And make no mistake, there is a contagion effect, where when one happens and gets a great deal of attention, it doesn't mean that somebody starts planning the next one. It means that someone who is already on the edge of doing something like that accelerates it, because they are seeing an example of the power they think they could have. This is a real problem, for this country--
COLLINS: There is Utah governor, Spencer Cox, FBI director, Kash Patel.
Let's listen in to what the Utah officials and law enforcement have to say with this update tonight.
HILLARY KOELLNER, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS, UTAH DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: Hi, everybody. Thank you for being here today. My name is Hillary Koellner. I am the Communications Director for the Utah Department of Public Safety.
This evening, we have FBI Director Patel; FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino; Special Agent in Charge, Robert Bohls; Governor, Spencer Cox; Lieutenant Governor, Deidre Henderson; and Commissioner Anderson as well as -- I'm so sorry, Commissioner -- Commissioner Beau Mason, as well as some local partners here present with us today.
Governor, we'll kick it off. Thank you.
GOV. SPENCER COX (R-UT): Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for joining us here tonight. We appreciate the media, and the partnership we have with you, in helping us to get information out to the public, so that we can -- we can catch this assassin and hold him accountable.
We are going to share a portion of a video and -- that we have of the -- of the suspect, as well as some new stills. Those have already been released, but we want to make sure that they get as much attention as possible, so that we can get help from the public, in tracking down this evil human being.
So, we're going to -- we're going to cue up the video right now, show that. I've asked Commissioner Beau Mason if he would narrate to you what is happening in this video.
BEAU MASON, COMMISSIONER, UTAH DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: Thank you, Governor.
Beau Mason, Commissioner for the Utah Department of Public Safety.
If you look up to the top left, you'll see the building where the shooter was proned-out in the top-left corner. We'll go ahead and play that video, and I'll narrate as we walk through that.
So, here you see the suspect ran behind that upper -- upper building. He's going to come out on the right, moves to this far-right corner. As he does, he's going to climb off the edge and then drop down to the ground. As he did that, he left some palm impressions. There's some smudges in some places we're looking to collect DNA. There's a shoe imprint, where we believe the suspect is clearly identified as wearing Converse tennis shoes.
Again, we'll replay that again so you can get another view of that. It's important to note his black T-shirt, his black pants, and there appears to be some white on the soles of those Converse tennis shoes. Those are all identifiable items that we're looking for.
In the stills that are going to follow this, you're going to see a very distinctive T-shirt with an American flag, and appears to have an eagle on it. There's also a baseball cap with a triangle on it, and a pair of sunglasses. All distinctive, all things that we would ask the public to look for and try to identify, if they know someone who is -- has those items, who has been seen wearing those items. We're looking for all that information.
Here you see the suspect, after dropping off the building, he moved around across this grassy area around the parking lot. We're going to pan to the right.
After he crosses the street, this is where he moves over into the wooded area. This is the video evidence that we utilized to track his movements and to locate that firearm in that wooded area, following the discovery of this evidence. Good. You want to go to the stills?
[21:55:00]
So, here's the still photographs I mentioned. These have been enhanced, so these are slightly different than what we introduced earlier. Please pay close attention to the T-shirt, like I said, very distinctive with that American flag and that eagle. The hat with the triangle and the sunglasses.
If you'll go to the next picture please.
The backpack as well, all identifying features that we're hoping the public can help us identify and lead us to this suspect.
Next picture?
And again, there's a better picture of the hat with that triangle logo, and again, the T-shirt, blue jeans, and you get a good look at those -- those Converse tennis shoes as well.
We have pushed these out. We'll continue to push these out. And we just ask for the public's cooperation. Through the public, the tips that have been coming in are what are giving us our next leads, and enabling us to continue to further this investigation. We've had great cooperation from the public, and we're continuing to ask for that as we move forward.
Thank you, and I'll turn the time back over to Governor Cox.
COX: Thank you so much, Commissioner Mason.
I want to --I want to thank Director Patel and his team. It's great to have them on the ground with us tonight. We've had several briefings, and he's had an opportunity to walk the crime scene.
We appreciate our local law enforcement here. Again, we have -- we have Mike Smith, who is the County Sheriff here. We have all of our local -- local chiefs of police that are here as well, all working hand in hand with the state, and with the FBI, as we -- as we move forward with this investigation.
Now, I'd just give you a little more -- we will not be taking any questions at this time. That, we're giving you the latest information we have, being as transparent with everything that we have.
But I do want to share a couple things that I think are important. 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. I would just note that the FBI hasn't received this many digital media tips, from the public, since the Boston Marathon bombing.
This case also highlights the dedication of our law enforcement community. We have 20 federal, state and local law enforcement partners that are working shoulder-to-shoulder, to find the person who committed this horrific crime. With their support, we have completed nearly 200 interviews.
As you're aware, as has already been reported, the FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information, leading to the identification and arrest of the person responsible for the murder of Charlie Kirk.
We also continue to implore the public to support this investigation and come forward with any information. We are truly hopeful that this video and new photos will lead to even more tips. We are processing. We have an incredible team, a state and federal team, working together to process those tips. We are going out in tandem to interview any potential person of interest or suspects. But we need, again, we need as many, as much help as we can possibly get.
Any videos or photos that you might have, the public, should be submitted to our digital media tipline, which is www.fbi.gov/utahvalleyshooting. All lowercase. Again, that is fbi.gov/utahvalleyshooting. All lowercase.
You can also provide general tips about the shooting by calling 1-800- CALL-FBI. That's 1-800-CALL-FBI or at tips.fbi.gov.
This is, I would just say, this is not just a local matter, here in Utah. We have people all over the country that are helping to bring this perpetrator to justice for Charlie Kirk and his family.
I will just add as well that, as was mentioned, there is -- there is a lot of forensic evidence that is being processed, right now, at both the state lab and the and federal labs -- and federal lab on the East Coast. So, we are working in tandem together.
I would also just add a word of note. For those -- for those people who are spending so much time on social media. I think Charlie said it best that when things get bad, we should put our phones down and spend a little time with our families.
[22:00:00]
There is a tremendous amount of disinformation. We are tracking, 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. We'll have to say about that, in the days and weeks to come.
More than anything, we are going to catch this person. Last thing I will just say is 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 will happen, here in the State of Utah.
Again, to the public, to those who are grieving, thank you for your prayers. I know, we are feeling those prayers. I know the Kirk family is feeling those prayers as well. We pray that God will bless our nation at this very dark time. We can start healing by finding this perpetrator and holding him accountable, and we need your help to do that.
Thank you.
