Commissioner Richard Chambers says the audio release may breach the law.

The FBI is leading a manhunt for the killer of Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and close ally of US President Donald Trump, who was shot dead at a college event in Utah.

The co-founder and CEO of the youth organisation Turning Point USA, the 31-year-old Kirk is the latest victim in a spasm of political violence across the United States.

Videos posted to social media from Utah Valley University show Kirk speaking into a handheld microphone while sitting under a white tent emblazoned with the slogans "The American Comeback" and "Prove Me Wrong".

READ MORE: Who was Charlie Kirk? Political firebrand leaves behind wife, two kids

IN PICTURES: Terror, panic as shot rings out on Utah college campus

A single shot rings out and Kirk can be seen reaching up with his right hand as a large volume of blood gushes from the left side of his neck.

Stunned spectators are heard gasping and screaming before people start to run away.

The AP was able to confirm the videos were taken at Sorensen Centre courtyard on the Utah Valley University campus.

Kirk's organisation, Turning Point USA, has announced his death in a note to employees and supporters.

"It's with a heavy heart that we, the Turning Point USA leadership team, write to notify you that early this afternoon, Charlie went to his eternal reward with Jesus Christ in Heaven."

A Turning Point USA official shared the note with CNN.

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A person who was taken into custody at Utah Valley University was not the suspect, according to a person familiar with the investigation who was not authorised to speak publicly.

The mayor of Orem, Utah, David Young, says the shooting suspect remains at large.

Authorities are not telling people to shelter in place.

FBI co-leads manhunt for shooter

The FBI has joined Salt Lake City police in the manhunt for Kirk's assassin.

The Salt Lake City bureau said it has dedicated "full resources" to finding and arresting the shooter.

"As soon as we heard about the shooting, special agents and personnel from the Salt Lake City Field Office responded immediately," Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls said in a statement.

"We have full resources devoted to this investigation, including tactical, operational, investigative and intelligence."

Bohl said the FBI was "co-leading" the investigation alongside local police.

Map shows shooter's vantage point

Kirk was shot and killed while at an event at Utah Valley University, located in Orem, Utah.

He was talking into a microphone in the Sorensen Centre courtyard, sitting under a white tent, when the shooting took place, according to videos on social media.

The university has said the shooter fired from the Losee Centre, which is located roughly 180 metres from where Kirk was sitting.

It has been reported the shooter may have been on the roof.

The below map shows the exact location of the fatal shooting.

Witness describes terror and panic after shooting

A witness who was watching Kirk speak at Utah Valley University said the shooting turned the event into a "nightmare".

Ryan DeVries, 25, told Associated Press he heard "popping" before seeing Kirk's head slump on stage.

The shooting then triggered mass panic.

"People definitely feared for their lives. I could see it in their eyes. I could hear it in their voices," DeVries said.

"People were crying. People were screaming. It was a nightmare."

DeVries said he was also surprised by the lack of security at the event

Kirk was speaking at a debate hosted by his nonprofit political organisation. The event had been met with divided opinions on campus.

An online petition calling for university administrators to bar Kirk from appearing received nearly 1000 signatures.

The university issued a statement last week citing First Amendment rights and affirming its "commitment to free speech, intellectual inquiry, and constructive dialogue."

Last week, Kirk posted on X images of news clips showing his visit to Utah colleges was sparking controversy.

He wrote, "What's going on in Utah?"

The college said a "single shot" had been fired at Kirk and a suspect was in custody.

Police later named two people who were arrested and released following Kirk's assasination.

Utah Police said George Zinn was initially arrested as a suspect but has since been released after being charged with obstruction by UVU police.

A second suspect, Zachariah Qureshi, was also taken into custody and released after an interrogation.

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Trump leads tributes

Trump paid tribute to Kirk on social media.

"The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead," he said.

"No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie.

"He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!"

He also ordered all US flags be lowered to half mast in Kirk's honour.

"In honor of Charlie Kirk, a truly Great American Patriot, I am ordering all American Flags throughout the United States lowered to Half Mast until Sunday evening at 6 P.M," Trump wrote in a following Truth Social post.

A host of Republican and Democratic elected officials earlier decried the shooting and offered prayers for Kirk on social media.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox said he spoke to Trump following Kirk's death.

"I just got off the phone with President Trump. Working with the FBI and Utah law enforcement, we will bring to justice the individual responsible for this tragedy," Cox wrote on X.

"Abby and I are heartbroken. We are praying for Charlie's wife, daughter, and son," Cox added.

The shooting comes amid a spike in political violence in the US across all parts of the ideological spectrum.

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The attacks include the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker and her husband at their house in June, the firebombing of a Colorado parade to demand Hamas release hostages, and a fire set at the house of Pennsylvania's governor, who is Jewish, in April.

The most notorious of these events is the shooting of Trump during a campaign rally last year.

Former Utah congressman Jason Chaffetz, a Republican who was at the event, said in an interview on Fox News Channel that he heard one shot and saw Kirk go back.

"It seemed like it was a close shot," Chaffetz said, who seemed shaken as he spoke.

He said there was a light police presence at the event and Kirk had some security but not enough.

"Utah is one of the safest places on the planet," he said.

"And so we just don't have these types of things."

Turning Point was founded in suburban Chicago in 2012 by Kirk, then 18, and William Montgomery, a Tea Party activist, to proselytise on college campuses for low taxes and limited government. It was not an immediate success.

But Kirk's zeal for confronting liberals in academia eventually won over an influential set of conservative financiers.

Despite early misgivings, Turning Point enthusiastically backed Trump after he clinched the GOP nomination in 2016. Kirk served as a personal aide to Donald Trump Jr, the president's eldest son, during the general election campaign.

Soon, Kirk was a regular presence on cable TV, where he leaned into the culture wars and heaped praise on the then-president. Trump and his son were equally effusive and often spoke at Turning Point conferences.

An ex-AFL umpire has been accused of placing fraudulent bets under a different account name about players he knew would receive Brownlow Medal votes and passing insider information onto others.

Michael Pell, who resigned from AFL umpiring in 2022, faced Melbourne Magistrates Court today charged with six betting fraud offences over the 2021 Brownlow Medal awards.

He is accused of communicating information to three men, including co-accused William Forde, in connection with "which AFL player was awarded three Brownlow Medal votes or any Brownlow Medal votes in six games" ahead of the awards night in September 2021, court documents reveal.

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When Pell passed on the insider information, the then-umpire "knew that the information was about conduct that corrupted the betting outcome of the event", according to charge sheets.

The 34-year-old is further accused of placing bets himself on "to poll three Brownlow Medal votes" and "to poll a Brownlow Medal vote" from five or six AFL games under the account name Lincoln Busby. 

He allegedly placed bets under this name with Sportsbet, Ladbrokes and Neds in September 2021, while "being in possession of information in connection with the event contingency about conduct that corrupts or would corrupt a betting outcome of the event". 

Forde, 35, is facing 53 charges, including dishonestly obtaining financial advantage by using another person's credentials to operate a betting account, passing on information to others to place fraudulent bets, and placing fraudulent bets himself, on the 2021 and 2022 Brownlows. 

He allegedly also placed bets across a range of wagering services – including Palmerbet, Betstar, Bookmaker, TAB, bet365, Betfair, TopSport, Ladbrokes and Neds – under his own name.

Pell's brother Donovan, 31, has been charged with 23 offences, including using two different account names and dishonestly obtaining their personal credentials, to place bets about who would poll Brownlow Medal votes at the 2021 awards.

Mitch Lucas, 32, has been accused of 20 offences including communicating information about the 2022 Brownlows to others, knowing they would place bets, and placing bets himself under both his own name and a different name. 

The documents were released to media today, after all four men faced court in person.

READ MORE: Pro-Trump personality Charlie Kirk dead after shooting on US college campus

The charges related to about $300,000 in fraudulent betting, the court was told, and many of the co-accused and witnesses in the case are family members or co-workers.

Magistrate Brett Sonnet said the accused men, who were charged on summons, each needed to be placed on bail as the charges were "serious".

He placed them all on bail with conditions that they reside at their homes and cannot leave Australia.

The group will return to court on October 22 for committal mentions.

Umpires award Brownlow votes on a 3-2-1 basis after each game, with tight security around the details until the AFL chief executive reads them out on presentation night.

Umpires and other AFL personnel are not allowed to gamble on the game.

Port Adelaide's Ollie Wines won the 2021 award, with Carlton captain Patrick Cripps claiming the Brownlow the next year.

The AFL ruled out changes to the voting process after the scandal but Victoria's gambling watchdog unveiled greater safeguards in 2023, including spot audits on AFL employees and greater surveillance of umpires.

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Coastguard said a man got into trouble while trying to tow a boat to safety.

Violence has gripped the US political scene once again after prominent conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was shot dead.

The 31-year-old, who was a key ally of President Donald Trump was killed while speaking at a university in Utah.

Trump paid tribute to Kirk, calling him a "martyr for truth and freedom" and blaming "the radical left" for the shooting.

AS IT HAPPENED: Gunman fired from 'a long distance'

But it was just the latest in a growing number of shootings and violent incidents against US politicians on both sides of the political divide.

As the country comes to terms with Kirk's death, it also faces the reality that gun violence is becoming an increasingly regular part of its politics.

July 13, 2024: Attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Pennsylvania 

The most recent wave of political violence began during last year's election campaign, when the then-Republican candidate for the presidency was shot by a sniper at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

In a massive security failure, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, managed to fire eight rounds from a rifle from a nearby building as Trump spoke.

One member in the crowd was killed, as was Crooks moments later by a Secret Service agent, but it was the first attempt on the life of a president or presidential candidate since Ronald Reagan in 1981.

Crooks was once a registered Republican but had donated sums of money to progressive movements and causes before the shooting.

Trump was injured in the shooting with a bullet grazing his ear, though he claimed he could have died had his head been in another position.

He rose quickly to his feet after being covered by security and Secret Service, and a photo of the wounded Trump raising his fist to the crowd has become one of the most iconic photos ever.

READ MORE: Who was Charlie Kirk? Conservative figure who helped build support for Trump among young people shot dead

September 15, 2024: Second attempt on Trump's life

Just two months later, Trump was the target of another assassination attempt, this time at his own golf club in Florida.

Ryan Wesley Routh, a 58-year-old man, had hidden in bushes on Trump International Golf Course and was armed with a rifle.

He was spotted aiming the gun at a member of Trump's security detail, and it is believed he was planning to shoot the Republican candidate.

A Secret Service agent shot at Routh, who tried to flee but was eventually arrested after a chase.

April 13, 2025: Arson attack on Pennsylvania governor's home

Josh Shapiro, the Democratic governor of Pennsylvania, was the target of an alleged assassination attempt when part of his residence was set on fire.

Cody Allan Balmer broke into the residence in Harrisburg and reportedly used two Molotov cocktails to trigger the blaze.

The 38-year-old was also allegedly armed with a sledgehammer to confront Shapiro with if he encountered the governor, but he wasn't able to do so and later turned himself in to police.

Balmer was previously diagnosed with bipolar disorder, which he rejected, and reportedly targeted Shapiro due to "perceived injustices toward the people of Palestine".

READ MORE: How Charlie Kirk changed conservative media – and US politics

June 14, 2025: Shooting of Minnesota legislators

The next attack saw two Minnesota Democratic state legislators attacked by a lone gunman.

Vance Luther Boelter first broke into the house of Senator John Hoffman, shooting him and his wife Yvette, hospitalising the pair.

He then travelled to the home of Melissa Hortman, shooting and killing her and her husband Mark.

Boelter then fled and sparked a massive manhunt, with police eventually capturing him the next evening.

A reported motive for Boelter's attacks was his strong anti-abortion views.

September 10, 2025: Assassination of Charlie Kirk

The assassination of Charlie Kirk is the latest chapter in a concerning trend in US politics.

The conservative commentator was speaking at Utah Valley College this morning when he was shot in the neck.

The gunman is still at large at the time of writing, but it is believed the shots were fired from a building up to 200 metres from where Kirk was speaking.

Kirk leaves behind a wife and two young children, and figures across America's political spectrum condemned the shooting.

"Michelle and I will be praying for Charlie's family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children," former president Barack Obama said on X.

The previous president Joe Biden also posted a statement against the shooting: "There is no place in our country for this kind of violence. It must end now. Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirk's family and loved ones".

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