President Trump said Thursday that law enforcement officials have made significant progress in their hunt for the killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“They’re making big progress and we’ll have to see what happens,” Mr. Trump told reporters as he departed the White House on his way to New York to attend a baseball game between the New York Yankees and Detroit Tigers.
Mr. Trump’s comments came hours after the FBI released photos of a person of interest in the fatal shooting of Mr. Kirk at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. The FBI had scheduled a press conference to discuss the manhunt, but the bureau abruptly postponed it due to “rapid developments” in the investigation.
FBI Director Kash Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino are traveling to Utah for the press conference.
Asked if he was aware of the killer’s motivation, Mr. Trump said he had “an indication,” but added, “We’ll let you know about that later.”
“He’s an animal, total animal and hopefully they’ll have him and they’ll get him,” Mr. Trump said of the gunman. “What he did is disgraceful. Charlie Kirk was a great person, a great man, great in every way, especially with youth. And what he did, what this man did was disgraceful.”
“So hopefully we’ll have him and we will deal with him very appropriately,” Mr. Trump said.
The president said he spoke to Mr. Kirk’s widow, Erika, earlier Thursday and that she was “absolutely devastated.” He also credited Mr. Kirk with his election win last year.
Mr. Kirk, the 31-year-old co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was shot to death while speaking at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. It was the first stop of his American Comeback Tour.
