Charlie Kirk shooting witness: UVU venue not a 'safe place to be'

(NewsNation) — A former Utah Valley University student and witness to the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk described the outdoor venue where the shooting occurred as not a "safe place to be."

Brandon Russon told "NewsNation Now" that he remembers telling his friend as he walked into the Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University that "if a shooting were to happen here, this would be an absolutely awful place to be."

"There's so many vantage points for a person to get up on a roof or something like that," Russon continued.

The event was held in the university quad at UVU, an outdoor bowl courtyard. Russon's concerns with the venue coincide with what various witnesses of the shooting have said about the security.

“Anyone could just walk in. It was probably the worst place on campus, because there’s so many areas where anyone can just walk in,” another witness told NewsNation local affiliate KTVX.

Shooter still at large

Following the shooting Wednesday, police detained and released two suspects, later confirming that the shooter is still at large.

Russon told NewsNation that he is "devastated that justice hasn't been served yet" but has confidence in "the ability of the FBI and the local sheriff's department to find this individual."

Russon went home to his wife and kids after the shooting "extremely worried" about the shooter still being at large.

Russon believes that finding the person who shot Kirk will "give some closure to Charlie's family and to the nation as a whole."

"He is such an intelligent man who believed so deeply … in his faith, and that's what he died preaching," Russon said.

Federal investigators released pictures Thursday of a "person of interest" in the fatal shooting of Kirk. The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of a suspect.

Composite photos of a person of interest in shooting death of Charlie Kirk. (FBI Salt Lake City)