Related video: Shouting breaks out in House after silent prayer for Charlie Kirk

A person of interest in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday is in custody, according to the FBI and Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R).

“The subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody. Thank you to the local and state authorities in Utah for your partnership with @fbi. We will provide updates when able,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a Wednesday evening post on the social platform X. 

Kirk was fatally shot Wednesday afternoon while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah. 

Kirk was struck by a gunshot in the neck, according to the video footage from the scene shared on social media. President Trump confirmed Kirk’s death in a post on Truth Social. 

Shortly after the shooting, law enforcement briefly had a person of interest in custody, but he was released after authorities “identified that he did not match the shooting suspect and was not an accurate person of interest,” Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said during a press conference Wednesday afternoon. 

“However, he has been booked into the county jail by Utah Valley University Police Department for obstruction of justice,” Mason said. “We do still have an active investigation for the person of interest.” 

During the press conference, authorities also said the shooter was dressed in all dark clothing and that the shot came from on campus, potentially from a roof. In addition to local security, Kirk’s security was also present at the time of the shooting, noted Utah Valley University Police Chief Jeff Long.

It is believed the shooter acted alone, authorities said.

Cox also said a person of interest was in custody in remarks during the press conference, and he called the act “a political assassination.”

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library postponed a book signing for conservative commentator Ben Shapiro on Wednesday, after fellow right-wing media figure Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at a speaking event earlier in the day.

“The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute is saddened to hear of events that took place today at Utah Valley University. Our prayers are with Charlie Kirk’s family and friends. As a mark of respect, we are cancelling our program and book signing with Ben Shapiro this evening,” read a statement posted to the event page of the library in Simi Valley, Calif.

The statement said a new date for the event would be announced “shortly.”

As two prominent figures in conservative media, Shapiro and Kirk had overlapping circles.

Shapiro mourned Kirk, the co-founder of Turning Point USA, in a post on the social platform X, saying he is “utterly stunned and heartbroken and sick to my soul today” after Kirk’s death on a Utah college campus.

He recalled meeting Kirk, who died at age 31, when he was just 18 years old.

Shapiro said he remembered thinking Kirk was “a young man so eager and determined that I immediately turned to a friend and said, ‘That kid is going to be the head of the RNC one day.’”

“Charlie became even bigger and more important than that,” Shapiro continued. “It was a privilege to watch this principled man stand up for his beliefs and create the single most important conservative political organization in America. But more importantly, Charlie was a good man, a man who believed in right and wrong, who stood by his Biblical values.”

“All of us will miss him, and I can’t imagine the pain of his beautiful young family, and we must all pray for them. And we must pick up the baton where Charlie left it, fighting for the things he believed in so passionately. And we must fight for a better America – an America where good people can speak truth and debate passionately without fear of a bullet. I weep for Charlie’s family, and I weep for my country today. Most of all, I weep for Charlie,” Shapiro wrote.

Kirk was killed while speaking at Utah Valley University. He was struck by a gunshot to the neck and died shortly afterward.

The FBI announced Wednesday evening that a person of interest is in custody.

President Trump announced Kirk’s death on social media and ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff through Sunday.

The person of interest in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Wednesday was released after being interrogated by law enforcement, according to the FBI Director Kash Patel. 

“The subject in custody has been released after an interrogation by law enforcement,” Patel said in a Wednesday evening post on the social platform X. “Our investigation continues and we will continue to release information in interest of transparency.” 

So far, law enforcement has taken two individuals into custody as part of the ongoing probe, and both have been released without charges. It is unclear if law enforcement has taken more people into custody or if the shooter is still at large.

The update from Patel came roughly an hour and a half after he announced that the person of interest related to the shooting at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, where Kirk was struck in the neck by a gunshot, was in custody.

During a press conference, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) also said a person of interest was in custody and called the act “a political assassination.”

Shortly after the shooting, law enforcement briefly detained one person of interest, but he was released from custody “after we identified that he did not match the shooting suspect and was not an accurate person of interest,” Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said during the same press conference. 

“However, he has been booked into the county jail by Utah Valley University Police Department for obstruction of justice. We do still have an active investigation for the person of interest,” Mason said.