For two days, a sprawling manhunt by the FBI and Utah authorities has been underway for the gunman who used a hunting rifle to fire a single shot, killing Kirk, 31, at a Utah college campus. On Thursday, the FBI released additional photos of the suspect, a youthful white man wearing a baseball cap, aviator-style sunglasses, and a shirt with an American flag design.
“I think with a high degree of certainty we have him in custody,” Trump told “Fox & Friends.”
The president hinted that “someone very close to the suspect” tipped off authorities about his identity, leading them to locate the individual who managed to blend into a college crowd and disappear in the ensuing chaos.
“It was a minister who was involved with law enforcement… his good friend is a top U.S. Marshal – and they took it from there,” Trump explained while also referring to the tipster as a “father” who convinced his son it was time to turn himself in.
Law enforcement will share more details about the arrest later on Friday, Trump added.
Sources told CNN that investigators are continuing to question the individual.
It was rare to see Trump on the set of the popular morning Fox News program, a sign of how seriously his administration is treating the murder of Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA and arguably the individual most responsible for driving young voters into the arms of Trump in last year’s elections.
Kirk was the “finest person,” Trump told the co-hosts, saying he hopes the killer is eligible for the “death penalty.”
“Well, I hope he’s going to be found guilty, I would imagine, and I hope he gets the death penalty,” Trump said.
“What he did, Charlie Kirk, he was the finest person that, he didn’t deserve this. He worked so hard and so well, everybody liked him.”
Utah Governor Spencer Cox confirmed that state authorities would be seeking the death penalty for the killer.
“In Utah, they have the death penalty, and you have a very good governor there,” Trump added.
