Former NYC Police Commissioner Ray Kelly told Newsmax on Thursday that he believes law enforcement is "hot on the trail" of the person of interest in the assassination of Charlie Kirk in Utah.
Appearing on "Greg Kelly Reports," Ray Kelly told his son, host Greg Kelly, that the images of the man should be aiding in the investigation. Kirk, the Turning Point USA founder, was fatally shot in the neck at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, sparking a manhunt with a $100,000 reward for the suspect's capture.
"It was a very blatant thing to do. [The killer] had an escape route. It looked to me like he was pretty familiar with the area. And it looks also that they're very hot on his trail," the former commissioner said. "I think facial recognition will play an important role here. … There's over a billion pictures of individuals that are being stored.
"So that's a pretty clear picture of his face, even with sunglasses on. And they claim that they can sort of circumvent that. So it looks to me like they're close to identifying this individual," he added.
Ray Kelly, leveraging his decades of law enforcement experience, pointed to critical security failures at the event. He was stunned that the rooftop used by the shooter went unchecked, especially after the recent assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.
"I can't believe the security team, the school team, or whoever, did not check out the roof," Ray Kelly said, calling the oversight "blatant."
He noted pre-shooting images showing the suspect concealing a .30-06 rifle, presumed to be the murder weapon, indicating meticulous planning. The shooter's familiarity with the venue and a preplanned escape route further suggested a calculated attack.
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