Conservative commentator Steven Crowder reported Thursday morning that sources within the ATF shared an email with his team containing a screenshot of what appears to be an internal message. The message reportedly details a weapon and cartridges recovered by the ATF and other law enforcement near the scene of the Charlie Kirk shooting at Utah Valley State University.
“On September 10, 2025, at approximately 12:24PM, Conservative political influencer Charlie Kirk was shot and killed at the Utah Valley University in Orem, UT. Mr. Kirk was speaking at the University as part of the American Comeback Tour,” reads the message screenshotted and posted on X by Crowder. “Multiple SLC I and III agents responded immediately. The suspect fired one shot from an elevated position on a rooftop in an adjacent building on the campus and surveillance video shows the suspect, jumping off and fleeing the area on foot.”
Authorities confirmed in the missive that law enforcement recovered a firearm and ammunition linked to the Charlie Kirk shooting at Utah Valley State University. According to the purported internal ATF message obtained by investigative sources, “ATF and other law-enforcement located an older model imported Mauser .30-06 caliber bolt action rifle wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near the campus. The location of the firearm appears to match the suspect’s route of travel.”
The message detailed the condition of the weapon.
“The spent cartridge was still chambered in addition to three unspent rounds at the top fed magazine. All cartridges have engraved wording on them, expressing transgender and anti-fascist ideology.” Investigators immediately submitted an emergency trace, with the ATF Salt Lake City office working leads generated by the trace.
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“The firearm and ammunition have been taken by the FBI for DNA analysis and fingerprint impressions. Upon completion of forensics, the firearm will be disassembled for additional importer information,” the ATF message noted. Multiple people of interest have been contacted or detained “because of eyewitness testimony and review of video footage,” though the agency confirmed, “The primary suspect is yet to be identified.”
ATF emphasized its collaboration with other agencies: “ATF is assisting the investigation with multiple other federal, state, and local partners and the case is co-led by the FBI and Utah SBI.” The agency did not provide further updates on the identity of the shooter.
This report was later confirmed by the Wall Street Journal.
“Investigators found ammunition engraved with expressions of transgender and antifascist ideology inside the rifle that authorities believe was used in the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, according to an internal law enforcement bulletin and a person familiar with the investigation,” the paper reported. “The older-model .30 caliber hunting rifle was discovered in the woods near the scene of Wednesday’s shooting at Utah Valley University, wrapped in a towel with a spent cartridge still in the chamber, the sources said. There were also three unspent rounds in the magazine, all with wording on them.”
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