CHARLIE KIRK SHOOTING Police find rifle

Investigators find rifle in nearby woods Killer fled after shooting, still on the loose Kirk was fielding questions about gun violence when shot US President Trump will award Kirk the Medal of Freedom

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US investigators said Thursday they had found the bolt-action rifle they believed was used to kill the influential conservative activist Charlie Kirk as he gave a talk at a university in Utah, but were still searching for the shooter.

Kirk, a 31-year-old podcast-radio commentator and a close ally of US President Donald Trump, is credited with helping build the Republican Party’s support among younger voters. He was killed Wednesday by a single gunshot in what Trump called a “heinous assassination.”

The killing, captured in graphic detail in videos that rapidly spread around the internet, occurred as Kirk spoke onstage at an outdoor event called “Prove Me Wrong” in front of about 3,000 people at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, about 40 miles (65 km) south of Salt Lake City.