Trump marks 9/11 anniversary with first public appearance since Charlie Kirk shooting | World | News
Donald Trump has travelled to the Pentagon today to mark the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attack. The US President was accompanied by Melania Trump, the US First Lady, to the poignant event, taking place hours after the death of Charlie Kirk, who was shot on Wednesday.
The attack on the Pentagon killed 125 people on the ground and 59 passengers and crew members on the plane. Following the service, the US President is then set to head to New York in the afternoon, where he will attend the Yankees and Detroit Tigers game. There will also be a 9/11 observance at Ground Zero in New York City and in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, the site of Flight 93’s crash.
President Trump announced at the Pentagon ceremony that that he will be awarding Charlie Kirk posthumously with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
The date of the ceremony is yet to be confirmed, but the US President said he had no doubt there will be a “very big crowd”.
Meanwhile officials investigating the shooting of Charlie Kirk have been holding a news conference. Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said the investigation has made “a few breakthroughs”, including being able to track the shooter’s movements.
He said the suspect arrived near campus at 11:52 local time, adding the team of investigators have tracked his movements onto campus, through stairwells up to the roof and across the roof to the “shooting location”.
After the shooting, the suspect is believed to have jumped off the roof, before hot footing it off campus. Mr Mason also revealed that the chief suspect appeared to be “of college age”.
He added the suspect “blended in well with the college institution”, saying: “We’re not releasing many details right now. We will soon. But right now, we’re not.”
FBI special agent Robert Bohls said investigators have images of the shooter but “cannot comment specifically on his face” as it remains part of the investigation.
He confirmed that officers had recovered a rifle in a wooded area where authorities believe the shooter fled.
Bohls added that the high-powered bolt-action rifle is believed to be the weapon that was used in the shooting.
