The FBI drew scrutiny Thursday after an airport near Utah Valley University remained open in the hours after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot during a campus event, and social-media posts flagged the movements of a private jet that left the field shortly after the shooting, according to news reports and flight-tracking data.
Flight-tracking records reviewed by the Daily Mail show a private jet departing Provo Airport shortly after 2 p.m. local time, heading south toward the Arizona border before disappearing from public radar feeds. The aircraft later reappeared and returned to Provo roughly one hour after leaving. FAA registration data cited by the report lists the jet's owner as residing in Lehi, Utah. Social-media users suggested the flight could be linked to the shooting, a claim that investigators have not confirmed.
Charlie Kirk, 31, was shot Wednesday while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University in Orem and later died at a nearby hospital, authorities said. Law enforcement agencies described the campus shooting as an assassination and launched a manhunt for the shooter, whose identity has not been publicly released.
Utah officials and federal agents said the gunman opened fire from the roof of the Losee Center, a building located about 200 yards from the debate area where Kirk was speaking. Witnesses and first responders described a shadowy figure seen running shortly after the gunfire and said the person was dressed in black and wearing aviator-style sunglasses.
Initial arrests in the immediate aftermath of the shooting proved not to be connected to the attack. Authorities said a 71-year-old man, identified as George Zinn, was taken into custody after saying he had fired the fatal shot, but investigators later determined he was not involved. A second man detained near the scene was also cleared. "There is no current tie to the shooting with either of these individuals," the FBI and the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a joint statement. "There is an ongoing investigation and manhunt for the shooter."
The regional Provo Airport serves domestic flights and is roughly a ten-minute drive from Utah Valley University's campus. Retired FBI agent James Gagliano, speaking on Fox News, said the possibility of an airborne or vehicular escape route was among considerations for investigators and that pre-planning would be a concern if the shooter used nearby infrastructure to flee. "Was there pre-planning? Absolutely," Gagliano said. "This is going to be long and laborious."
Officials have not said whether agents closed airspace after the shooting or whether the jet identified in media coverage is part of the investigation. Federal investigators typically coordinate with the FAA on temporary flight restrictions and other security measures in active cases; the agencies involved in this investigation have not issued a public timeline of their airspace decisions.
Utah Valley University canceled classes through Monday as investigators continued to comb the college town. Campus police said they were coordinating with Kirk's private security team and that six university officers were on scene during the event. Witnesses said Kirk began to lose blood at the podium before being taken away and rushed to a hospital.
President Donald Trump announced Kirk's death and ordered U.S. flags lowered to half-staff through Sunday evening at 6 p.m. Eastern, officials said. The FBI and state investigators urged anyone with information about the shooting or the suspect's whereabouts to contact authorities.
The investigation remains active and ongoing. Authorities have urged the public not to post or circulate unverified claims on social media and said leads are being followed as agents work to identify and locate the shooter.