Authorities questioned and released a person of interest in the shooting of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk in Utah Wednesday afternoon, according to state and federal officials. Kirk, a 31-year-old father of two, died from his injuries.

“The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement,” FBI Director Kash Patel posted on X Wednesday. “Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency.”

Earlier, he wrote that the “subject” was in custody, and Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox referred to a “person of interest in custody.”

But Cox also hinted at an ongoing investigation.

Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP)

“I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this, we will find you,” he told reporters. “We will try you, and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law. And I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty here in the state of Utah.”

Authorities are asking anyone with information to come forward.

It marked the second moment of confusion as the public awaits news of an arrest in the broad daylight, assassination-style shooting.

A school spokeswoman initially said campus police had a suspect in custody but later reversed course.

The school had more than 46,000 students as of last fall. Campus authorities ordered a lockdown, have been escorting people to safety and are urging anyone still on school grounds to call them to be escorted to safety.

Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, throws hats to the public on May 1, 2025, at UC San Diego’s Town Square. (Michael Ho Wai Lee/SOPA Images/LightRocket )

Orem authorities said a shelter-in-place order was in effect. An organizer for the event told Fox News Digital many businesses in Orem and Provo were either closed or on lockdown.

A single gunshot rang out around 12:20 p.m. local time, a school spokeswoman said, about 20 minutes into a speech from Kirk on campus.

Graphic video shows he was struck before panic ripples through the large crowd in attendance, with people screaming and running for cover. Other videos appear to show someone moving on the rooftop of a building across from where Kirk was fatally struck.

This still image taken from video appears to show a figure wearing black on top of a  (Credit: @Doug_Zimmer1/X)

An event organizer told Fox News Digital that 1,400 people RVSP’ed for the event. The organizer said that many people came from out of the state to see Kirk speak.

“We had a speaker, Charlie Kirk, who was invited by a student group, Turning Point USA, who was speaking on campus today at noon,” Traenor said in a statement. “At about 12:20 shots were fired from a building about 200 yards from the speaker. To the best of our knowledge, the individual was hit and was taken away immediately by his security personnel.”

Charlie Kirk debates with students at The Cambridge Union on May 19, 2025 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire. (Nordin Catic/Getty Images for The Cambridge Union)

Authorities locked down the campus and canceled classes for the rest of the day. They told people on school grounds to shelter in place and said they were going door-to-door to escort people off campus. Roads in and out were closed.

“On behalf of Utah Valley University, we are shocked and saddened by the tragic passing of Charlie Kirk,” UVU President Astrid Tuminez said in a statement Wednesday evening. “We express our sincere condolences to the Kirk family. We grieve with our students, faculty, and staff who bore witness to this unspeakable tragedy.”

She said Kirk had been invited to speak by Turning Point USA’s UVU campus chapter.

“We firmly believe that UVU is a place to share ideas and to debate openly and respectfully,” Tuminez said. “Any attempt to infringe on those rights has no place here. We do not condone any form of violence at UVU and seek to make our campus a safe place for all.”

The FBI is asking for tips on Charlie Kirk’s assassination to be submitted here.