Vice President JD Vance stood front and center as Charlie Kirk’s coffin was loaded off a hearse in Salt Lake City in a powerful moment on Thursday.

Vance then led members of the National Guard in carrying the mahogany casket up the steps of Air Force Two at Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base. The aircraft was used to return Kirk’s body to his home state of Arizona.

Vance boarded the flight alongside Kirk’s grieving wife, Erika, their two young children, and his parents – all of whom stood together in silence as the solemn tribute unfolded.

Upon landing in Arizona, Second Lady Usha Vance was seen gently holding Erika Kirk’s hand, offering quiet support as the two stepped off the plane together.

A funeral for the prominent conservative activist is planned for next week, which President Donald Trump said he will attend. He added that he has spoken with Kirk’s wife, Erika, and said she is ‘devastated, absolutely devastated.’

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Vance has also shared a powerful tribute describing Kirk as a ‘true friend’ – the ‘kind of guy you could say something to and know it would always stay with him.’

The vice president had struck up a friendship with the late conservative influencer in 2017, and since then, Vance said, Kirk helped him advance his political career.

Kirk, a father-of-two, was fatally shot when he engaged with students and community members at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

The popular conservative influencer was on the first leg of his American Comeback tour, when police say a lone gunman opened fire from a rooftop 200 yards away.

Vice President JD Vance stood front and center as he and members of the National Guard carried Charlie Kirk’s coffin to Air Force Two on Thursday

Kirk’s family members were seen crying as Vance passed by with the coffin

A hearse carrying the body of Charlie Kirk, 31, is seen arriving at the Roland R Wright Air National Guard Base on September 11 in Salt Lake City

Air Force Two, carrying the Vice President of the United States, is seen leaving Utah en route to Arizona

Horrified spectators gasped and screamed, before crowds were seen scrambling to flee the crime scene.

At the same time, a shadowy figure was caught on camera running on the top of the school’s Lossee Center.

Federal and local authorities are now continuing to search for the suspect, releasing photos of a man they have identified as a ‘person of interest’ in the shooting.

The man appeared to have a slim build and was seen in the images wearing a snapback with sunglasses, long pants, and a long-sleeved top.

His long-sleeved top appears to bear a patriotic logo of the bald eagle flying across an American flag, reading ‘Land of the Free… Home of the Brave’. Daily Mail found the shirt is sold for as little as $6.75 on Ebay.

Little is known about the suspect. Utah DPS Commissioner Beau Mason said they ‘appear to be of college age’.

Mason said the gunman ‘blended in well with the college institution’ before adding: ‘We’re not releasing many details right now. We will soon. But right now, we’re not.’

The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of whoever is responsible for Kirk’s death after President Trump vowed Wednesday night that his administration would find the killer and bring him to justice.

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox has also noted that his state still has the death penalty.

Upon landing in Arizona, Second Lady Usha Vance was seen gently holding Erika Kirk’s hand, offering quiet support as the two stepped off the plane together

Kirk’s body will be flown on Air Force Two back to his Arizona home. His grieving wife, Erika, will also be on the flight as well as their two children and Vice President JD Vance

The FBI has released images of a person of interest (shown above) in Kirk’s assassination as they asked the public for help identifying them

Federal agents said earlier that they found a high-powered rifle in the woods after Kirk was shot dead at Utah Valley University – but admitted they still have not identified the gunman

Investigators were continuing to comb through a neighborhood near the school on Thursday as the manhunt for the assassin continued

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Investigators have since recovered bullets from a Mauser rifle which had been ‘engraved with transgender and antifascist ideology’, according to a memo seen by the Wall Street Journal.

The WSJ said the revelation came in a notice sent to the Bureau, Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) agents.

Sources told the outlet that the weapon was wrapped up in a towel, with a spent cartridge in the chamber.

Another three unspent rounds were discovered in the magazine, all of which contained messages on them. The exact words used have not been disclosed.

But the shooting has already set off a political frenzy, with Trump blaming ‘radical left’ rhetoric for the shooting in a somber message to the public posted on his Truth Social page Wednesday night.

‘It’s long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequences of demonizing those with whom you disagree, day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible,’ he said.

‘For years, those on the radical Left have compared wonderful Americans like Charlie to Nazis and the world’s worst mass murderers and criminals. This kind of rhetoric is directly responsible for the terrorism that we’re seeing in our country today and it must stop right now.’

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Father-of-two Kirk was killed by a single gunshot wound to the neck on Wednesday afternoon at Utah Valley University. (Pictured: Kirk at the college event)

Trump went on to compare Kirk’s murder to the assassination attempt on his own life, the attacks on ICE agents, the alleged killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson by Luigi Mangione and the shooting of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise.

‘Radical Left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives,’ he said as he remembered his good friend Kirk as ‘a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loved so much, the United States of America.’

He concluded by asking all Americans to commit themselves to Kirk’s values: ‘The values of free speech, citizenship, the rule of law and the patriotic devotion and love of God.’

‘Charlie was the best of America and the monster who was attacking him was attacking our whole country.’

Trump had been good friends with Kirk, who had quickly ascended in conservative circles after co-founding the right-wing youth organization Turning Point USA in 2012 along with marketing entrepreneur and Tea Party activist Bill Montgomery.

Kirk leaves behind his wife Erika Frantzve, with whom he had a three-year-old daughter and a son, 16 months

Trump remembered Kirk as a man of faith who loved his country and advocated for it to his followers.

‘Charlie was a patriot who devoted his life to the cause of open debate and the country that he loved so much, the United States of America. He fought for liberty, democracy, justice and the American people,’ the president said in his Oval Office speech.

‘He’s a martyr for truth and freedom and there has never been anyone who was so respected by youth,’ Trump continued.

‘Charlie was also a man of deep, deep faith, and we take comfort that he is now with God in Heaven.’

Vice President JD Vance also described Kirk as a ‘true friend’ and a ‘great family man’ in a post saluting him on X.

Kirk is now survived by his wife, Erika Kirk (nee Frantzve), and their three-year-old daughter and 16-month-old son.

For more on this story – follow Daily Mail podcast ‘The Assassination of Charlie Kirk,’ out now wherever you get your podcasts or on YouTube.