FBI Agent Bohls just announced that they believe they may have recovered the weapon

[Quiet Em]

a high powered bolt action rifle. It was found in the woods where they believe the suspect fled.

He said they also have a palm print and forearm prints.

[marble falls]

1. Right where Patel had it planted. What shooter together enough to hit a 200 yard shot would leave ...

... an easily found dirty weapon?

All this pure unfounded conjecture on my part.

[Leghorn21]

2. YEP

100%

[PCIntern]

4. Like Oswald's palm print, right?

And the shooter didn’t think to wipe down the weapon…and just left it instead of throwing it into a body of water or an abandoned area between walls or down a well. Right….

[Ursus Rex]

10. I agree with the possibilty of placing the weapon, but ...

Counterpoint: I know lots of people who regularly nail 200++ yard shots in deer season. No special "training" except for practice since they were like 10, but they are not exactly criminal geniuses. Utah is a sportsman's paradise and there is no shortage of accomplished marksmen/hunters, which only increases about this time of year, and I'd imagine about the same distribution of criminal smarts.

[allegorical oracle]

32. One of the former FBI guys on MSNBC said that distance isn't really an

unusual feat for a fairly skilled shooter.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

40. In boot camp back in the old days

we had bolt action M-14's and shot at targets 150, 300 and 500 yards away. So yes, 200 yards is not out range.

[InstantGratification]

51. Back when I used to shoot on a regular basis...

Against life size paper silhouettes, I could fairly routinely score hits out to about 500 yards. Beyond that distance, the results started to drop off pretty quickly. Even now, without having fired my rifle for years, I think 200 would be a pretty easy thing. I was on active duty then and considered the AF's ground combat training in general and firearms proficiency in particular to be woefully inadequate. I figured since I was in the profession of arms, I should try to maintain a more professional level of readiness.

[marble falls]

52. Key phrase: shot at. Not everyone hits it reliably everytime.

[orangecrush]

77. You had a bolt action M-14???

[orangecrush]

81. The M-14 is selective fire

Full or semi automatic, and the military hasn't used a bolt action as standard issue since WW2.

I'm sorry, sounding like a gun humper here, and I know what you meant.

I agree, 200 yards isn't shit for anyone semi proficient.

[marble falls]

49. It's more than who has the skill to drop a deer at 200 yards. It's the subset of that skill, who have the ability to ...

... ignore a crowd and security to drop another human out of animus and/or for a paycheck. Let alone a silhouette of a buck is a tighter target than a human sitting on the floor. A significantly smaller group with the skills than you suggest.

I don't think I can hit square at 200yds, but I do know I can not hold it together to shoot someone not shooting at me.

[StarryNite]

55. Exactly, it's the whole picture.

Then to just drop the weapon with his prints all over it? Really? That's a difficult story for me to buy.

[Midnight Writer]

80. Especially since he had already gotten the weapon out of the building.

No one saw this guy leave the scene of a shooting, through a crowded campus, carrying a rifle?

One would assume the rifle had been disassembled and concealed. But if that is the case, why dump it in the woods?

Was the rifle assembled when it was found? if so, does that mean he carried it whole, or does that mean he stopped and assembled it?

Also, we don't keep a database of palm prints and forearm prints. That may come into play if they have a specific suspect but is not much use for the investigation.

[DBoon]

26. You assume Patel has the brains to plot something like this

I believe he does not

I bet he would have to read the instructions for tying his shoes each morning

[PatSeg]

33. Yeah, clearly he is out of his league right now

He likes the status and perks that come with his position, but he doesn't seem to have a clue what he's doing.

[SergeStorms]

41. Like everyone else.....

in the Krasnov47 maladministration.
There's only one qualification required: are you prepared to bury your head in Krasnov's asscrack at a moment's notice?

[PatSeg]

66. Small price to pay evidently for the power and prestige

that comes with the position. We've seen so many republicans in similar positions; they wanted the title, but not the responsibility. Kristi Noem is another example of someone enjoying all the perks of a job that she has no qualifications for.

[SergeStorms]

88. It's my contention.....

that these people and their lofty positions will be deemed complete jokes by near-future citizens (except those in the cult, of course).
Who would take these assclowns and their "work" seriously but other assclowns?

[PatSeg]

92. Yes and it is all so obvious

Their "lofty positions" are so very temporary and when it is over, they have no where to go but down. All they have to do is look at the four years of Trump's first administration. Where are all those ass-kissers today? Mr. Pillow guy, Rudy Giuliani, Jeff Sessions, Michael Cohen, John Eastman, Jeffrey Clark, etc. Very few are with him today who were there in his first term.

Some may end up a minor footnote in history, but it will be insignificant and very unflattering. The best they can hope for is to stay out of prison. The lack of foresight is stunning.

[Disaffected]

47. Oh please.

How can it be assumed that the shooter was "together" at all??

BTW, a 200 yard shot is nothing notable.

[pandr32]

57. Absolutely.

[Escurumbele]

73. But you are right. This was a professional job, not an idiot's job. Why would anyone believe the shooter would

not be wearing gloves, long sleeve shirt, etc.? This was very meticulously planned, and he/she is going to throw the gun where it can be found in minutes/hours, leave his/her prints all over the place? Please...

I refer again with point #8 of a post here in DU..."When the 'facts' are provided, it will be a lie." (paraphrasing).

[totodeinhere]

83. Well, he was shot by a rifle. That rifle must be somewhere.

I think it is possible that the assassin did ditch his rifle there. There are a lot of crazies out there and it is possible that this scenario is correct. But I know where you are coming from. Could this assassination have come from someone wanting to give the right its excuse it needs to escalate violence against. the left?

[vanlassie]

85. I thought I read it was found "wrapped in a towel."

[yellowcanine]

3. I am guessing 50 caliber sniper rifle,.

But the palm print gives me pause. Doesn’t sound like a pro. Sounds like a false flag plant.

[Johnny2X2X]

7. No way that was a .50 Cal

A .50 Cal would have near torn his head clean off.

My guess is a smaller caliber hunting rifle. Maybe .223, probably not 30.06.

[Jacson6]

22. Yeah, a .50 caliber would have destroyed his head. n/t

[Exp]

29. 308, 270 are among the most accurate I believe. But yes, .223 is more common, and also accurate at 200 yards. Patel

didn't mention a scope attached. If no scope attached = BS report.

[DenaliDemocrat]

17. It's a .308

Almost guaranteed.

[Kaleva]

21. Or a .303 or 30-06

[Prairie Gates]

43. "older model Mauser 30-06 high-powered bolt action"

according to the New York Times.

[Exp]

30. That's what I'm thinking. Or perhaps a Creedmoor. nt

[Kaleva]

20. No

[Arazi]

5. Deliberately abandoned. Why risk carrying that out in the open? Just dump it

Most gun owners would try to hold on to it since it’s part of their collection.

A twisted person would hold on to it as a souvenir.

A pro knows there’s no more use of it and keeping it is a huge problem. Dispose of it fast and get away

[marble falls]

6. But dump it without a wipeoff, without taping the trigger beforehand, loading and firing it without gloves?

[Arazi]

16. They hid their fingerprints. It's weird they got a palm print but no fingerprints

Makes me wonder if that palm print isn’t really the shooters

[SergeStorms]

46. And a forearm print?

Never heard of that before. Imagine the ink you'd have to clean off after that printing session.

[skypilot]

50. I'm thinking that...

...they can get DNA from it.

[SergeStorms]

84. Good point.

[Arazi]

62. I believe the shooter left stuff he intentionally wanted them to find

The engraved bullets with antifa and anti-lgbtq messages? Really?

If those prints match the murderers, I’ll retract my suppositions

[people]

71. Citation for these engravings?

[SergeStorms]

86. Oh, I smell what you're cookin'.

And we all smell what Krasnov is cooking up here as well. This smells like Trump's Reichstag Fire to me.

[underpants]

8. Being anywhere near where a shooting just happened carrying a rifle

is not a smart move especially if you were the shooter.

[Kaleva]

15. You don't need to be a pro to know that the weapon should be dumped

Just someone of average intelligence.

[PJMcK]

31. Did Luigi dump his gun? (n/t)

[Kaleva]

48. He used a 9mm handgun

Much more easily concealed then a rifle

[yellowcanine]

9. Very irresponsible for FBI to release info like that.

Ongoing investigation - details like that should be closely guarded. May be misdirection to smoke out the culprit.

[newdeal2]

11. They've fired all the professionals

It’s now the Trump/Kash show and I don’t trust anything they have to say.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

13. They are at the "asking the public for any information" stage. . . . nt

[allegorical oracle]

37. Noticed that the Utah officials wouldn't "give a name," but said they were

looking for the person. That seemed idiotic to me. If I've committed a crime and police sound as if they have ID'ed me -- whether they name me or not, I'm leaving.

[D_Master81]

12. I saw

Saw a friend sent something an hour ago that it was a .30-06 rifle wrapped in a towel left in the woods.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

14. CNBC reported FBI says it has clear video of college-agey guy, blends well w U students.

Came onto campus about noon local time. Video in more than one place.

[33taw]

23. What is unique about this individual that they are a target?

[Feel Good Inc]

27. My guess: solo, with a backpack, wearing clothes that might match what witnesses saw.

Doesn't mean he is the shooter but that he might stand out a bit compared to others in the area.

But he also could be just a random student.

[33taw]

64. Hard to tell from the article. I am assuming they have some video.

[Feel Good Inc]

67. There's photos of him now...

[33taw]

68. I read that, but I haven't seen the photos. I'll keep looking.

[33taw]

69. found it. Pretty grainy

[a kennedy]

18. We'll NEVER know the truth with this gawd damn administration, all they do is lie, this will be no different.

🤬 🤬 🤬 🤬 🤬

[mnhtnbb]

19. Wow! Are they using LAPD to advise on planting evidence? Or they've just settled on who to pin this on because

someone knew about a rifle that was already in evidence somewhere?

[jeffreyi]

24. A question for the knowledgeable.

Say you have an item like that, and you want to clean it off quickly. Would a spray down with brake cleaner, or electronic cleaner take off fingerprints? I use that stuff in my shop all the time; just curious.

[sir pball]

28. Yes, fingerprints are oils

So anything that takes oils off will work great. Even just a good wiping will smear them enough to make them illegible on most surfaces.

[Irish_Dem]

38. Why do you think the shooter didn't try to wipe off the prints?

[bearsfootball516]

42. He had just assassinated a person in public and was on the run

Most people aren’t going to think too clearly in that moment. He was probably just trying to get rid of the weapon as fast as possible and get away from the area as fast as possible.

[Irish_Dem]

61. Classic amateur and first time killer mistake.

This is not an experienced serial killer or professional hit man.

[BannonsLiver]

25. Take nothing they say at face value.

[PortTack]

35. For sure!

[Coventina]

34. Not believing a word they say.

They are going to find a patsy and fry him/her.
(Even better if the person is trans).

[Cerulean Southpaw]

36. High powered bolt action rifle

Most likely calibers are 270, 30-30, 30.06 or .308.

Grandpa's hunting rifle.

I'm not sure if either of my grandpas had a .270, but I think they both had the larger caliber ones.

[Irish_Dem]

39. So it is an old gun?

[Prairie Gates]

45. NYTimes says "older model Mauser 30-06"

Seems like it.

[Turbineguy]

53. Mauser kills Nazi.

[Irish_Dem]

60. Yes the Germans used Mauser rifles to kill Americans in WWII.

Now it was used to kill an American Nazi.

[NickB79]

63. If it's a Mauser, it's easily 50+ yr old and a WW2 surplus import

Which means it's going to be hard to trace. It's possible it's been bought and sold multiple times, and since Utah doesn't have universal background checks, it could have been transfered without a background check. Just cash and a handshake.

[WarGamer]

89. no... started prodution in the 70's...

Last edited Thu Sep 11, 2025, 05:44 PM - Edit history (1)

Unless it's an ultra rare WW2 converted to .30-06 which is unlikely.

[sl8]

93. Huh? Mausers chambered in .30-06 were widely available throughout the 20th century.

Last edited Fri Sep 12, 2025, 07:39 AM - Edit history (2)

Pre-WWII, the Models A, B, and C commercial rifles were available in many chamberings, including .30-06. They sold commercial models post-WWII in many chamberings, including .30-06. I don't know all the various model numbers.

There were Peruvian, Columbian, Mexican and Belgian miltary rifles factory rechambered and chambered for .30-06 (ca. 1950s). I'm probably missing a few more.

At least throughout the 1990s, companies like Century Arms were selling surplus military Mausers rebarrelled for .30-06, dirt cheap. I think I paid about $100 for one in the mid 90s

[WestMichRad]

44. Forearm print?

Is that a thing? I admit to living a sheltered life, but that sounds like a far-fetched thing.

Epidermal cells that could lead to a DNS analysis, now that could be believed.

[dlk]

54. Hard to believe a shooter skilled enough to make that shot

Would be silly enough to abandon their rifle, fingerprints snd all, where it could be fairly easily located.

Patel wants to make it look like he’s doing something.

[Irish_Dem]

65. First time killers often make amateur mistakes.

They don't think every aspect of the crime through, the clean up, the get away.
They can also get nervous and squirrelly right after the crime.

If you look at serial killer behavior, you can see this pattern.
First couple of murders there are mistakes.
As they progress with their crimes they get much better at the details.

[orangecrush]

79. Its a professional tactic

If it's clean, which it sounds like it was, they eliminate the risk of being caught with the weapon.

[Takket]

56. I don't believe this for a second

[niyad]

58. As others pointed out yesterday, students, professors, etc.,

musical instrument cases, all kinds of packs, etc., who would notice?

[niyad]

59. Forearm print?? never heard of such.

[generalbetrayus]

70. Okay, this may be the ultimate in conspiratorial thinking, but what if the shooter bought the rifle recently

from a private seller, used gloves and wore long sleeves, and left the rifle with the seller's palm and forearm prints on it. They've already arrested two people who apparently had nothing to do with the shooting.

[TommyT139]

91. Forearm prints

When I saw that I assumed it was more like impressions on whatever steadying surface was used, or a momentary contact, or perhaps leaning on something while waiting. From that perhaps you can derive forearm length, which could help establish body size? I dunno - if they catch him, maybe it'll all come out.

[PortTack]

72. Dispelling the 200 yrd theory, or the bldg they claim he shot from

A former military intel person on YouTube points out…(what he did for a living while enlisted.)

Go look at google maps of the site. Kirk was in an amphitheater setting, slightly lower than ground level. With the shooter supposedly on the bldg that ppl are speculating about, it would be an absolute impossibility to have a clear shot from there. Why? The bldg between the position of the shooter and his target has another bldg directly in front of it that is taller than the bldg he was supposedly on! No clear path to shot from there!

[multigraincracker]

74. Photo of shooter

https://www.businessinsider.com/charlie-kirk-shooting-suspect-updates-rifle-recovered-2025-9?op=1

[leftstreet]

82. Long sleeves, but left a "forearm print?"

LOL okay

[vanlassie]

87. Ahem. "Person of Interest."

[orangecrush]

75. Professional.

[Botany]

76. Why is the FBI releasing this information? Something here does not pass my smell test.

I had a friend murdered 30 years ago and I got to be part of the investigation and the
homicide detective in the case was furious that the local newspaper printed the type
of weapon used. He said that information should never be released until an arrest is
made. This just doesn’t pass my smell test what kind of assassin leaves the weapon
behind with his or her prints on it?

BTW a .30 caliber bolt action rifle is perfectly capable of making that shot even with
iron sights and with a scope it is an easy shot.

[poli-junkie]

78. Would you be able to disassemble

this rifle? Does it have a built in bi-pod?

You’d think shooter would disassemble and put back in a duffel bag at some point after.

[mike_c]

90. all this speculation misses the real point

The shooter's skills and motives notwithstanding, if the report is correct the FBI found a "a high powered bolt action rifle" abandoned in the woods along the route where the shooter allegedly fled. While that rifle might have been left there by someone else, for entirely different reasons, Occam's razor suggests the most likely explanation is that the Charlie Kirk shooter left it there, having been the only known rifleman to travel that path recently.

So if the shooter was too professional to leave his weapon behind, or to not clean his prints off if he did, how else might that rifle have gotten there, in that place, on that day? Or is the FBI lying about finding a weapon?

Edit: I hope whomever shot Kirk pulls a D.B. Cooper and keeps the FBI chasing its tail for a generation. Just my opinion, but there it is.