Does a viral video really show "Charlie Kirk's real shooter escaping" as some posts on social media claim? No, that's not true: The video was filmed over a month before Charlie Kirk was shot, hundreds of miles away from Utah Valley University. It shows the aftermath of a different shooting in Reno, Nevada.
The video appeared in a post on X (archived here) published on September 11, 2025 with a comment that read:
🚨New video surfaces showing Charlie Kirk's real shooter escaping after the shooting🚨❗️#ChirlieKirk #BreakingNews #charliekirkvideo #charliekirkshot
This is the first frame in the video, captioned "Video shows Charlie Kirk's real shooter escaping":
(Image source: screenshot of video in tweet by AnissaBade47281 on x.com.)
🚨New video surfaces showing Charlie Kirk's real shooter escaping after the shooting🚨❗️#ChirlieKirk #BreakingNews #charliekirkvideo #charliekirkshot pic.twitter.com/eJU2zafkhd
-- ABDM (@AnissaBade47281) September 11, 2025
However, details in the video, such as oversized flowers and distinctive black-and-white stairs match with Google Streetview images of the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino in Reno, Nevada (archived here).
(Image source: collage of the AnissaBade47281 video and Google Streetview imagery put together by Lead Stories.)
The footage has been online since at least July 29, 2025 when it appeared on the YouTube channel of KRNV News 4 (archived here) with a description that read:
CAUGHT ON CAM: Viral video captures Grand Sierra Resort mass shooting suspect running from scene
The Sparks Police Department has confirmed that viral video circulating on social media is the man suspected of shooting six people at Reno's Grand Sierra Resort on Monday morning.
The video, which was captured and posted on social media by Jimmy Garcia, shows a man dressed in dark clothing, running from the front of the Grand Sierra Resort near the valet area headed for the front parking lot.
The Sparks Police Department chief said in an an afternoon press conference Monday that two people died at the scene, a third person died at the hospital, two others were in critical condition, and a sixth victim was taken to the hospital and has since been released.
The suspect was shot by police and remains hospitalized as of Tuesday morning.
It linked to coverage from July 2025 about that shooting (archived here).
