Featured Image Credit: Nordin Catic/Getty Images for The Cambridge Union
Topics: US News, Donald Trump, Politics, News, Charlie Kirk
Lucy Devine
Topics: US News, Donald Trump, Politics, News, Charlie Kirk
US President Donald Trump has said that authorities believe they have the person responsible for shooting Charlie Kirk in custody.
On Wednesday (10 September), Kirk, 31, was hit by a single shot to the neck during a Utah Valley University (UVU) event.
Kirk, a right-wing influencer, was taken to hospital by his security team where he was declared dead.
Over the last 48 hours, the FBI launched a manhunt for the killer, releasing footage and photographs of a 'person of interest'.
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In a press conference yesterday (11 September), the FBI and Utah Department of Public Safety said they 'were able to track the movements of the shooter starting at 11:52 am'.
The suspected shooter climbed up onto the roof of a nearby building and 'fled off of the campus and into a neighbourhood' after the incident.
Commissioner Beau Mason said the male suspect 'appears to be of college age' and that 'we are doing everything we can to find him'.
Now, while speaking to Fox News, Trump has said 'with a high degree of certainty' that the suspect they have been looking for is currently in custody.
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"I think with a high degree of certainty we have him in custody," he said.
"He's in custody. We worked with the local police, the governor - everybody did a great job."
Trump continued: "You know, getting somebody that you start off with absolutely nothing - and we started off with a clip that made him look like an ant - that was almost useless.
"We just saw somebody up there. And so much work has been done over the last two and a half days.
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"You know, it's amazing really, when you start off with that and then all of a sudden you get lucky, or talent, or whatever it is."
Trump added that a person 'close' to the shooter 'turned him in' to the police.
The president also said that he hoped the suspect - if found guilty of the crime - receives the death penalty.
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"I hope he's gonna be found guilty, I would imagine, and I hope he gets the death penalty for what he did," Trump said.
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The POTUS also added that he believes the suspect is around '28 or 29 years old', despite authorities previously believing he is of 'college age'.
It seems Trump's comments are a very recent development, with the president explaining he learned of the latest news 'five minutes before I walked in'.