00:00Hi everyone, my name is Hillary Kellner. I'm the Communications Director for the Utah Department of Public Safety.
00:06Today we will have two speakers, one representing the state of Utah and one representing our federal agencies.
00:12They will be providing some updates as well as a recap of what happened here at Utah Valley University yesterday.
00:19We will be able to take a couple of questions after they are done speaking,
00:22but it will be short in order to stay in tune with the President speaking at 945.
00:27So I'll go ahead and introduce Commissioner Bo Mason.
00:30I'll be remiss if we didn't start off today to recognize the significance of the day.
00:47Historically on 9-11, law enforcement has come together as a group to recognize and honor those that sacrificed
00:55to preserve the ideals of this country, the freedoms of this country.
01:01And instead we find ourselves today hunting a murderer who chose to violate our rights,
01:09the rights of an individual within this country.
01:11Just to recap yesterday's events, at around 12.20 p.m., political influencer Charlie Kirk was at Utah Valley University
01:26participating in a student-sponsored event with Turning Point USA.
01:30Charlie was shot at that event, he was transported to a local hospital where he later passed.
01:40Last night his body was moved to the state office of the medical examiner.
01:46We will continue to facilitate movements to get him home today and with his family.
01:57Yesterday, during the investigative process, we located a couple of persons of interest.
02:01We interviewed those individuals, and after releasing them and after clearing them of being suspects,
02:07they face scrutiny, they face threats, they face scrutiny, they face threats.
02:11We asked the public to be patient with the investigative process.
02:16These individuals were not suspects, they were people of interest.
02:20We ask that you do not impose into those people and that investigative process.
02:27They don't deserve that harassment for being subject to that.
02:32I'd like to thank all the investigators that are involved in this.
02:35They have worked around the clock all day yesterday through the night last night.
02:40Investigators from the State Bureau of Investigations, from county, from city agencies, the university,
02:46our federal partners with the FBI, the ATF, and many others.
02:51Those are just a few of the people that we have involved in this.
02:54I'd like to thank all of them for their strong work.
02:57Through all that work last night, we were able to make a few breakthroughs.
03:01We were able to track the movements of the shooter.
03:06Starting at 11.52 a.m., the subject arrived on campus, shortly away from campus.
03:13We have tracked his movements onto the campus, through the stairwells, up to the roof,
03:18across the roof to a shooting location.
03:20After the shooting, we were able to track his movements as he moved to the other side of the building,
03:26jumped off of the building, and fled off of the campus and into a neighborhood.
03:33Our investigators worked through those neighborhoods, contacting anybody they can with doorbell cameras,
03:40witnesses, and thoroughly worked through those communities, trying to identify any leads.
03:49We do have good video footage of this individual.
03:52We are not going to release that at this time.
03:54We are working through some technologies and some ways to identify this individual.
03:59If we are unsuccessful, we will reach out to you as the media, and we will push that publicly to help us identify them.
04:05But we are confident in our abilities right now, and we would like to move forward in a manner that keeps everyone safe
04:12and moves this process appropriately.
04:14Last night, I communicated with Erica that family is devastated.
04:23As a commissioner of public safety, as a father, as a husband, I can only imagine what that family is going through.
04:32The heinous event that happened yesterday is not in Utah.
04:36This is not what we are known for.
04:38Over the past several weeks, we have seen this state come together to help families in mourning.
04:44Come together as a community to show what Utah is known for, for a state of character, of service, of camaraderie, of a neighboring feel.
04:58We will not stand for what happened yesterday.
05:01We are exhausting every lead.
05:03We have every officer invested in this, every investigator, every local agency.
05:09The outpouring of support for the law enforcement community has been astounding.
05:15We are investing everything we have into this, and we will catch this individual.
05:22Having walked through the crime scene, through the hallways of this school, through the classrooms,
05:26I can't imagine what the people on scene felt as well.
05:31A horrific event where some of them barricaded in classrooms, some of them ran in fear.
05:37Can't overstate the tragedy and the horrific event that yesterday was,
05:44and how we will work to bring to justice the actions of one individual or any other individuals that assisted in that.
05:53Our state has gone through a lot, and we will come out successful.
05:57With that, I'll turn the time over to Special Agent Rose.
06:00Good morning.
06:05My name is Robert Bowles, and I am the Special Agent in Charge of the Salt Lake Field Office.
06:13Following yesterday's tragic shooting of Charlie Kirk,
06:16FBI agents have been working around the clock in coordination with our law enforcement partners.
06:23We are and will continue to work nonstop until we find the person that has committed this heinous crime
06:31and find out why they did it.
06:32This morning, I can tell you that we have recovered what we believe is the weapon that was used in yesterday's shooting.
06:40It's a high-powered, bolt-action rifle.
06:44That rifle was recovered in a wooded area where the shooter had fled.
06:50The FBI laboratory will be analyzing this weapon.
06:54Investigators have also collected footwear impression, a palm print, and forearm imprints for analysis.
07:01I understand there are a lot of questions about motive.
07:07I assure you that all leads, tips, and tips are being fully investigated.
07:13As of this morning, we have received more than 130 tips.
07:16We thank the community for that.
07:18The FBI has brought every resource to bear, and we will continue to do so throughout the course of this investigation.
07:25The FBI's mission is to protect the American people.
07:32It's to uphold the Constitution of the United States.
07:35Any attack on the First Amendment is an attack on the very foundation of our democracy.
07:41That is why we will relentlessly pursue this case and the shooter until we find him.
07:49We also continue to grieve with the family and the community.
07:57It's our community.
07:59If you have any video or images from the shooting, we ask you to please submit them to our digital media tip website at www.fbi.gov slash Utah Valley Shooting.
08:14You can also call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
08:20We truly rely on the public's help in these types of cases, and no tip is too small or insignificant.
08:29Commissioner James Nathies from Sky News.
08:35Can I ask about the shooter?
08:38There's clearly information about him or her.
08:42You say you're confident at this stage in terms of tracking down who we are.
08:46Can you talk to us about their movements, their demeanor?
08:50Do you think it's a man?
08:51And also, can I ask, what were the security arrangements in place?
08:57Was that roof being monitored?
08:59It's a question many people will have, particularly after public.
09:03So what I'll release about the suspect is, the suspect blended in well with a college institution.
09:12We're not releasing any details right now.
09:15I mean, we will soon, but right now we're not.
09:18But that individual appears to be of college age.
09:23We are confident in our abilities to track that individual.
09:26If we're unsuccessful in identifying them immediately, we will reach out to the public's help and the media's help in pushing those photos.
09:35That was a new development overnight, working through the night, studying those cameras.
09:38So that's something that's new and that we're working through right now.
09:42As far as the security, I cannot speak to that.
09:44But neither the Department of Public Safety nor the Federal Bureau of Investigation was involved in the planning or security of this event.
09:51And that will have to be a question later for other agencies.
09:54I wanted to ask you, you mentioned that you found the gun in a wooded area.
10:01Do you believe that the suspect could be hiding in the woods?
10:04And is that suspect possibly still in this area?
10:08So that's a good question.
10:09And it's a question that goes to the safety of the community, right?
10:14No, not in those woods.
10:15We walked through those woods and secured it.
10:18As to the community, I can tell you that this was a targeted event.
10:22We don't believe the community is at risk.
10:25However, we're exhausting every resource to find him, and we will do so.
10:30So I can't comment specifically on his face or any details such as that, as it's continuing to be a part of the investigation.
10:52And, again, we'll release that shortly.
10:55However, we're doing everything we can to find him, and we're not sure how far he has gone.
11:02But do you have a clear image of his face?
11:05We have images of the suspect.
11:07So between those images and the gun that you've been able to recover, do you believe you know who this person is, the person that you're looking for at this point?
11:15Again, as part of the investigation, we're not releasing any details such as that.
11:19Any fingerprints or DNA?
11:20We are exhausting all of our resources to be able to collect those.
11:25But that's, again, part of the investigation.
11:27Have you said you found the owner of the gun?
11:30Excuse me?
11:30You said you found the weapon.
11:32Have you been able to trace back the owner of that weapon or purchased it?
11:35We are working on that.
11:36But, again, part of the investigation.
11:39Well, there's been a lot of turnover at the FBI.
11:42Do you think that's impacting the investigation at all?
11:44Not at all.
11:45We've got complete and total support from everyone, from the director on down, and it's been an incredible, supportive environment so far.
11:55Are tweets like the one yesterday in New School where we announced that there's a suspect in custody?
12:00All I can say is that we're working the investigation the best we have with the environment we're getting.
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