No suspect in custody in Charlie Kirk shooting after hours of confusion

Authorities in the U.S. had no suspect in custody for the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk after hours of confused statements from officials about the killing at a university in Utah.

"This shooting is still an active investigation," the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a statement, adding it was working with the FBI, the Utah County Attorney’s office, the Utah County Sheriff’s office and local police departments.

After two suspects were taken in and released, "there is an ongoing investigation and manhunt for the shooter", the statement said.

Kirk, 31, was shot while addressing a large outdoor crowd at Utah Valley University in Orem, near Salt Lake City, around 12:20 p.m. MT (1820 GMT).

The Department of Public Safety statement said the shooting was "believed to be a targeted attack" by a shooter from the roof of a building but said it could not give further details "to protect the integrity of our investigation."

Governor Spencer Cox initially told a press conference that police were interviewing a "person of interest," while Beau Mason, the Utah Department of Public Safety commissioner, told the same press conference that the perpetrator, suspected of firing a single shot, remained "at large."

FBI Director Kash Patel said an unnamed person had been detained for questioning, then released. "Our investigation continues," he wrote on social media.