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Rise of Political Violence; Manhunt for Charlie Kirk Shooter Continues. Aired 1-1:30p ET

Aired September 11, 2025 - 13:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Person of interest. The FBI releases photos and asks the public for help. What we know about the manhunt for the shooter who killed Charlie Kirk and new details about the weapon that investigators recovered.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Plus, a Colorado community in mourning and an investigation under way after a shooter opens fire at a high school injuring two students.

We have an update on that investigation and a new warning from South Korea. Its president says that an ICE raid on South Korean workers in Georgia could have a considerable impact on its future investments in the United States.

We're following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

KEILAR: Breaking news: The manhunt for the gunman who killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk is now nearing the 24-hour mark. The FBI just shared these images, urging the public to help them identify this person of interest, the photo showing a person in sunglasses wearing a black shirt with what appears to be an American flag on it.

Officials say they tracked some of the suspect's movements right before and after Kirk was shot. A high-powered rifle, which is said to have writings on it, was also found.

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BEAU MASON, UTAH PUBLIC SAFETY COMMISSIONER: The suspect blended in well with a college institution. That individual appears to be of college age.

ROBERT BOHLS, FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE: We're doing everything we can to find him and we're not sure how far he has gone yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KEILAR: Let's get to CNN's Ed Lavandera now. He is in Utah live in the neighborhood near the campus where law enforcement have been scouring.

Ed, what did you learn?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Brianna.

Well, we have spent the morning speaking with a number of residents in this area. You see down this driveway -- and this is a home that is under construction down on there. You see the rooftop area. It's hard to make out from this vantage point, but those rooftops just there in the distance, that would have been the rooftop where the suspect fired the deadly shot of Charlie Kirk yesterday afternoon, as you mentioned, almost 24 hours ago.

There has been a great deal of attention focused on this neighborhood. It sits up on a on a hill up from the campus, so -- but there are a couple of wooded areas just behind the this row of homes and the campus itself. And we do know we have talked to residents who said and people who were here yesterday that law enforcement authorities have been going through this neighborhood, scouring this neighborhood, searching it all throughout yesterday afternoon, trying to find the suspect.

So, a great deal of attention being focused on this area, as this being an area that could have possibly been the escape route for this suspect to get away from the chaotic scenes as the shootings unfolded just down the hill up here. So, that is what we're trying to piece together and gather at this moment.

But, as I mentioned, there are a couple of wooded areas. Law enforcement said that the weapon that was used was recovered in that area. And if you kind of look at the maps of the area as well, there are escape routes where coming off the rooftops all back over here to the east side of the campus, you can get back into this neighborhood where we're at.

And you can imagine the other residents here also said that, in the moments after the shooting, a lot of people trying to flee the campus area made their way into these neighborhoods as well, as they were trying to get away from the area. And, as you have heard law enforcement talk about, this suspect is believed to have been able to blend in rather easily with the young people who were here in this crowd fleeing that scene as well -- Brianna.

KEILAR: What's the feeling like in the community? How are people there reacting?

LAVANDERA: You know, they're incredibly stunned and kind of overwhelmed, obviously a great deal of attention being focused on all of this.

And you had -- talked to one resident just behind these homes over here. We saw some residents shared videos with us of dozens of law enforcement agents going through the areas and the dirt areas and the wooded areas that were behind these homes as well, so obviously very, very stunning,everybody just simply shocked that this is unfolding in their tight-knit community, a very quiet place.

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Several residents we talked to said they feel incredibly safe and unconcerned about many of the violent things that happen in the world. So this kind of landing on their front doorstep has just shocked so many of them.

KEILAR: Yes, certainly.

Ed Lavandera live for us in Orem, Utah, thank you -- Boris.

SANCHEZ: CNN's Evan Perez joins us now with the latest details on the investigation.

Evan, what are you learning?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we have right now is really the FBI, as you can tell, is really trying to get the public to help, because, earlier this morning, when they had the first press conference, they said that they were not going to release the video because they were still working on various aspects of this.

And now quickly they have released these images, these images that they say came from what they believe is very good video that shows the shooter. Now, it looks pretty good, but you can -- there's a lot of detail there you cannot tell. And what we have right now is a real manhunt.

I mean, we have -- basically, the biggest piece of evidence that the investigators have right now, Boris, is the recovered firearm, the rifle. And we know that there were aspects on the rifle there were things that were written, according to law enforcement officials that have various perhaps political leanings.

They really don't know. Until they find this suspect, they're not going to be able to know whether any of that means anything. And so one of the things that we certainly have is the video from the scene yesterday, the scene from the shooter on that rooftop.

Here's another angle of that shooter on the rooftop. Take a listen.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Getting right up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, you think you he would already be in place.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You would think that. So, is there somebody on the roof right there? Just saying. He just ran from over -- where's my finger? From over there, ran in. And now he's right there. Just saying.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PEREZ: And, look, we don't know exactly what to make of that. The investigators certainly have this and they're looking at this. They're asking the public to turn in any other video that they may have that might give them a clue as to what -- how this all went down.

One of the interesting things that we were told that the investigators found is, they found a screwdriver near this -- the firearm, right? It appears he threw it as he fled. And the screwdriver could be an indicator that he disassembled the stock of the rifle and then put it together, fired the shot and then fled, right?

And so that is something that they're working on. Again, until they find this suspect and can sort of do more investigation, they don't know what any of this stuff means, but they really want to find this person because the time is of the essence.

SANCHEZ: Right.

PEREZ: We know that, at this point, they could be anywhere. They could be in Canada by now.

SANCHEZ: Yes, that's a good point.

When it comes to that good video that the FBI is describing that they're in possession of, ostensibly where these still images were taken, do we have any more information on what it shows and why that has not yet been provided to the public?

PEREZ: Right.

Well, they decided to put out only stills. And this is a big debate that happens behind the scenes. We know, for instance, in the Boston Marathon bombing, there was a similar debate inside the FBI, how much of this to put in.

One of the things that happens is, you put this stuff out, you get a flood of tips. And because time is of the essence, the concern is that you want to make sure you find the best tips, right? And if you get 500 and there's only two of them that are of any use, that's a lot of information -- a lot of time that investigators are spending.

So, look, you can kind of cut it both ways. There's certainly a debate behind the scenes inside the FBI, inside the investigation as to how to handle this. I suspect that, the longer this goes, they're going to be forced to show more of what they have.

SANCHEZ: Evan Perez, thank you so much for the reporting -- Brianna.

KEILAR: CNN law enforcement analyst and former Secret Service agent Jonathan Wackrow is with us now to talk more about this.

Jonathan, obviously, the FBI calculated the upside outweighs the downside here on releasing the photo. What are the pros and cons of doing that?

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, listen, in any investigation, getting the public's help will be a benefit. We have seen that time and time again in the past, where there has been outreach by the FBI or law enforcement in a matter.

And it just happens to be that the information that goes out, whether it's an image or a description of a potential suspect, is really crowdsourced and someone from the public actually sees something and says something and raises awareness that this could be the suspect.

The drawback, though, for law enforcement is that you get a flood of people calling in, so -- in providing a level of tips and awareness of what they may see. So, again, the challenge is, is every single one of those calls into the FBI tip line now must be adjudicated as to, does this actually have information that we can action off of that we can send our investigators out and follow up on?

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So, while there is significant benefit, it can delay the process a little bit in actually identifying and locating where this individual is.

KEILAR: What does the shooter's path here, how soon before he arrived on campus, that immediate departure to nearby woods, leaving what investigators believe is the weapon and ammo that was used there, tell you about the shooter?

WACKROW: Well, listen, I think when -- your question actually speaks to the totality of the attack dynamics, right?

And the attack dynamics really underscore just how premeditated and calculated this attack was, again, starting with the attack location. The elevated location on the roof actually reflects a level of pre- attack surveillance and planning. The shooter wanted a tactical advantage. We now know that this site, the attendees of this site, it's not like a presidential campaign site where you had magnetometers in an area that was a security zone.

This was an area where anybody could come in and out. With that, the attacker could have gotten really close, up front and launched this attack with a handgun. They chose this tactical advantage of an elevated site and a rooftop, again, with the indication that they wanted to escape.

That accessibility of the attack site also indicates a potential familiarity with the building or known vulnerabilities that these doors were always unlocked. The other aspect of the attack dynamics is really looking at the weapon that was used, the bolt-action rifle that's being reported was utilized.

That's showing a level of accuracy for this attack. This wasn't about throwing multiple rounds into a crowd. This was looking for precision in the moment. And the last part of this is the quick egress. And that's where we captured that image of the suspect on the roof, that quick single fire and quick egress.

That led to a long time of discovery. That suspect was able to get a jump and create a gap in time that allowed them to move quickly. And, again, those -- all of those dynamics are what investigators are looking on, have been predicated upon that. They did report some good news earlier with the identification of the weapon and a known travel pattern that the suspect had.

KEILAR: Sources with knowledge of the investigation tell CNN that the rifle and the ammo have writings scrawled on them. How will law enforcement use that both to determine a motive, but maybe to identify and pursue the shooter?

WACKROW: Listen, Brianna, I mean, this year specifically, like the rolling 12 months, we have seen this rise of ideologically motivated violence, right?

And it's what security experts such as myself really talk about is the assassination culture. And it's really a way to describe the normalization, in some cases, the glorification of political violence through targeted killings. We saw it starting with the assassination of Brian Thompson in the UnitedHealthcare case. We have seen it time and time again over the last nine months of 2025.

This is a pattern of behavior that is basically celebrating these violent acts that are rooted in grievances. It's really ideological justification for killing. And a lot of this is metastasizing online. So when we see reports that there is ideologically written phrases and terms associated, whether it's in a manifesto or written on a weapon, really, that gives rise to this assassination culture methodology.

And these online spaces are really amplifying the -- and encouraging these direct actions towards the assassination culture and glorifying killing as a rationale for an ideological movement.

KEILAR: Speaker Johnson says the House is in a deliberate review process to determine how to enhance security for lawmakers after Charlie Kirk was killed yesterday.

How should elected officials, but not just elected officials, also political figures, influencers like Kirk, be thinking about their security in this moment?

WACKROW: Well, listen, in the Secret Service, we used to say that complacency kills, and you can never be complacent to the environment, whether you're a political leader, an influencer, you're out in the public. You're putting yourself out there.

You have to be really aware and maintain heightened situational awareness of the threat environment around you. A lot of individuals dismiss that. They feel that this is not going to happen to me. I'm going to be OK. But the reality is, is, the more that you are out there as a political leader or an influencer, the greater the target that you have.

There's a lot of -- on both sides of the aisle here, there's a lot of grievances that people are -- feel empowered to engage directly with these -- with these lawmakers and influencers. And it's a real challenge to set up security. So it really comes down to protective intelligence, understanding, what is that threat environment around you?

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And never dismiss any type of threatening language, calls, letters that you may be receiving, because those are key indicators that -- of your own danger. So that is really what law enforcement and the private security industry really looks towards is creating this -- the totality of a protective intelligence program, whether it's around a single lawmaker or an influencer, to really start to mitigate and manage the risks that they face while they are in public.

KEILAR: Jonathan Wackrow, so great to talk to you about this. We appreciate it.

WACKROW: Thank you.

KEILAR: Ahead, more on our coverage of the manhunt for Charlie Kirk's killer, plus the latest on the two students in Colorado now in the hospital after they were shot at their high school.

And then later: South Korea's president says the immigration raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia could threaten his country's investment in the U.S.

We will have that and much more coming up on CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

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SANCHEZ: Heinous acts of political violence are becoming all too frequent in the United States, especially in recent years.

In 2011, then-congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot while meeting with constituents in Arizona. Then, six years later, in Alexandria, Virginia, a gunman opened fire on congressional Republicans practicing for a baseball game, wounding Congressman Steve Scalise and several others. In 2020, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was the target of a kidnapping plot over her COVID policies. Nine people ultimately were convicted in the case.

The world also watched as a violent insurrection broke out on Capitol Hill on January 6, which led to several deaths. The following year, a man armed with a hammer attacked the husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi inside their California home.

KEILAR: And in July of last year, President Trump was shot on live TV during his rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. He was targeted again months later at his Florida golf club. Then, earlier this year, the home of Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro was set on fire as he and his family slept inside. This past may, two Israeli Embassy staffers were killed outside of an American Jewish Committee event here in the nation's capital.

And, in June, Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband were murdered in their home in what the FBI called a horrific act of targeted violence. Another Democratic state lawmaker and his spouse were also shot that night, but survived.

SANCHEZ: And that brings us to today, the killing of conservative political activist and 31-year-old father of two Charlie Kirk.

With us now to discuss political violence is CNN political commentator and host of Smerconish, Michael Smerconish.

Michael, always great to see you.

Last night, you posted -- quote -- "I hope this unspeakable tragedy would lower the nation's temperature. Watching television and perusing the Internet, I was naive. Rest in peace."

Talk to us about what you're seeing and what you're hearing.

MICHAEL SMERCONISH, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: First of all, I grieve for Charlie Kirk's family. And last night, like the rest of the country, I was watching television, watching a lot of CNN and other networks, perusing the Internet, reading opinion pieces and so forth.

I thought it was a moment for reflection. Frankly, Boris, I didn't want to say anything impulsive as I was taking it all in. As we sit here today, we still don't know the identity nor the motivation of the person who carried this assassination out.

And I guess I should know better. The reference to my naivete is I should have known better than to think that people would rise above, at least for this moment in time. Many did. Many elected officials said the right thing.

But very soon thereafter, it became a game of whataboutism, and it seems like the political sides want to point to one of the episodes or another that you and Brianna just showed that suits their political interest.

There's so much we don't know about this particular episode, other than it's unspeakable. The thing that I know for sure is that the nation is sick. The nation is sick. We're frayed. We're fragmented. We're isolated from one another. We're lonely. We're lacking in common experience.

Each one of these incidents, I think, was perpetrated by an individual with mental health issues. That seems obvious, but we have got to get it together and not provide so much incitement for those who are among us who are prone to do something heinous. That's where I am today.

KEILAR: Yes, I think that is so well put, Michael. And I also wonder what you think this generation is dealing with. I think about my generation, and for me it was being in college and seeing Columbine, and it was sort of that school shooting, as being a young adult, seeing all of those school shootings.

This is a generation that is seeing all of this political violence, right? I mean, these were young people at this event. They were in college. And I wonder what you think, especially considering this graphic video was everywhere yesterday. So many people would have seen this. It was hard to avoid.

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And I wonder what you think that does to a generation of young people.

SMERCONISH: So my wife and I have raised four. They're not so young anymore, three who are in their 20s and a daughter who's in her early 30s made us grandparents.

But the climate of political polarization is the only thing they have ever known, OK? I'm of an age that I remember Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill having stark policy and political differences and yet being able to have a cocktail together. A great story about how Reagan hosted Tip O'Neill for his 69th birthday at the White House and said: "Tip, if I didn't have a ticket to heaven and you didn't have one too, I'd throw mine away and go to hell with you."

And then they shared a big laugh. And that kind of camaraderie among people of political differences, it just doesn't -- it doesn't exist. The members of Congress today, they don't know one another, right, because they're only there Tuesday through Thursday and then they go home to fund-raise and they don't break bread and socialize and their partners don't come to town and raise kids together the way they used to.

But it's part of a larger societal disconnect. I'm absolutely convinced that the only thing that I know for sure, we're having fewer common experiences in all of our respective communities. And I'm not providing a direct answer to how this just happened, but it's the context in which it keeps happening.

SANCHEZ: It's also the context in which you see some of the remarks that we have seen, especially online, people that lack empathy for the fact that this was a relatively young man, a young father that was killed essentially for espousing his views.

No matter how you feel about his views, he wasn't actually committing violence himself, and yet he was murdered. It strikes me also, Michael, that we're having this conversation on the 24th anniversary of the attacks of September 11. You talk about common experiences, that was arguably one of the last moments that I remember in my less than 40 years that the entire country felt like it was united around something.

I do want to point out, you played a key role in the creation of the official Pennsylvania memorial to the victims of 9/11. What does it say to you that we're so far from that unity that we felt back then?

SMERCONISH: Well, here's a scary thought. I think you're right to reflect on this being the day. Somewhere around, I have the pin that I have been wearing all day to commemorate it. It was too shiny for TV.

I had a caller today on my radio program who referenced September 11 as a unifying moment, and I said God forbid it should happen again. I don't know that it would be the unifier that it has been in the past, because there have been so many. It used to be that our differences, what do they say, Boris? They ended at the shoreline.

I'm not so sure that would be the case any longer, and I don't want to find out. I just know that it's -- as big an incident as this was yesterday, it's even larger than Charlie Kirk. And I'm very, very concerned.

And one of the areas that I have of fear is, I worry about good and decent people who are out there and willing to serve, and in this climate will decide that it's not worth it and that it's too dangerous and they will surrender the playing surface to the fringes, and that the vacuum of positions of people in leadership will be filled by extremists. That worries me a great deal as well.

KEILAR: Yes, that is a real temptation. That is going to be a real temptation that some people deal with for sure.

Michael, it is always great to talk to you in a moment that requires some reflection.

SMERCONISH: Thank you both.

KEILAR: Thank you so much.

And still to come: Hundreds of South Korean workers who have been detained in Florida are heading back home. But we're now learning of a last-minute effort to allow them to stay.

We will have details on that ahead.

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