(LifeSiteNews) — Law enforcement have found a rifle near the campus where conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was shot, with cartridges all “engraved” with expressions of “transgender and anti-fascist ideology.”
Steven Crowder posted to X Thursday morning an exclusively obtained email from the American Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) sharing internal findings about the weapon used by Kirk’s yet-unidentified assassin.
EXCLUSIVE: This morning my team received an e-mail from officer at ATF.
The email included a screen shot from what appears to be an internal message describing a weapon and cartridges located by an ATF and other law enforcement near the scene of the Charlie Kirk shooting at… pic.twitter.com/UKtOUPY5DC
— Steven Crowder (@scrowder) September 11, 2025
“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,” read the ATF message.
Law enforcement, including ATF, “located an older model imported Mauser .30-06 caliber bolt action rifle wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near the campus,” in a location that “appears to match the suspects route of travel,” the message continues.
“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 in Utah shared Thursday morning that they have obtained video footage of Kirk’s assassin but will not yet be releasing it to the public.
Kirk, the 31 year-old CEO of Turning Point USA (TPUSA), died Wednesday afternoon after he was shot in the neck during an event on the campus of Utah Valley University.
One person at the scene reported that when he was shot, Kirk had been speaking about “how many trans mass shooters there have been.”
Utah Governor Spencer Cox denounced Kirk’s murder as a “political assassination.”
Former FBI Agent Stuart Kaplan believes Kirk’s assassination has the markings of a “professional hit.”
“This was a very well-planned, very well-orchestrated plot that was put in motion days before. This individual had a plan of escape … this assassination of Charlie Kirk, to me, is indicative of a professional hit,” said Kaplan on Fox News.
🚨BREAKING: Former FBI Agent Stuart Kaplan says Charlie Kirk’s Assassination was a “PROFESSIONAL HIT” 🚨
“This was a very well-planned, very well-orchestrated plot that was put in motion days before. This individual had a plan of escape… this assassination is indicative of a… pic.twitter.com/cEDIbFZHne
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) September 11, 2025
Kirk, an evangelical Christian, was extraordinarily influential both politically and culturally. He has been credited with helping Donald Trump to secure a second term as president and he is also known for respectfully engaging students on campuses across the country about a wide variety of issues, including abortion, Christianity, and the Constitution.
He reportedly was recently attending Catholic Mass with his wife and children and has said he wants to be remembered for “courage for my faith.”