Federal and local authorities are racing to track down the suspected assassin who fatally shot Charlie Kirk, and a home surveillance camera collected Thursday may provide crucial clues in the investigation.
A homeowner told Fox News Digital that he believes his camera captured the person of interest running through a neighbor’s backyard just moments after the sniper-style attack.
Police and agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were seen at the home. One of them climbed a ladder and removed the entire floodlight unit, which included a home security camera.
Erwin Steele and his family own multiple homes on West Street in Orem, a residential area separated from Utah Valley University’s Campus Drive by a chain-link fence, just steps from where the assassination occurred.
Steele said he believes the suspect crossed onto one of his family’s properties. His brother owns the surveillance camera that authorities confiscated Thursday after it recorded a single person running through backyards after the shooting.
The neighborhood sits close to a wooded area where investigators recovered a rifle earlier in the probe.
Steele said he thinks the suspect ran down the alleyway, ditched his weapon, bypassed the fence, and ran through his family’s properties.
The weapon, described by authorities as a “high-powered, bolt-action rifle,” was found along the suspected escape route.
“Investigators recovered a ‘high-powered, bolt-action rifle’ along the route the suspect is believed to have used to escape,” confirmed FBI Salt Lake City Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls.
Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two and founder of Turning Point USA, was speaking under a tent in a UVU courtyard on Wednesday afternoon when he was struck in the neck by a sniper’s bullet.
A sniper shot and killed Kirk Wednesday afternoon as he was speaking in the courtyard at UVU at an event organized by the campus chapter of Turning Point USA.
Chilling video of the attack captured screams from witnesses and people ducking for cover. Kirk was rushed to the hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Other video circulating online appears to show a dark-clad figure on a rooftop, and authorities believe the shooter fired from approximately 200 yards away, possibly from the roof of the Losee Center building, located across from the courtyard where Kirk was speaking.
Authorities said the gunshot came from about 200 yards away, likely from a perch atop the Losee Center building.
The FBI has released two images of a man in all black, who is now being labeled a “person of interest” in the investigation.
Bohls said investigators also recovered a palm print, footprint, and a forearm imprint near the suspected sniper’s position.
As investigators analyze the surveillance footage and physical evidence, the hunt continues for the gunman responsible for the assassination of one of the country’s most prominent conservative figures — an act that has shocked the nation and ignited heightened security concerns at political and campus events nationwide.
