Conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in a state that has permissive gun laws and allows firearms to be concealed or openly carried without a permit in most instances, experts said.

Investigators said a high-powered, bolt-action rifle that might have been used in the attack was found hidden in a towel in a wooded area near Utah Valley University.

Clark Aposhian, a firearms instructor and chair of the Utah Shooting Sports Council, said there is nothing in Utah’s permissive gun policies that would somehow make it easier for an assassin to kill Kirk, who was speaking outdoors to students.

“No law allows a person to bring a rifle on a campus, climb on a roof and shoot somebody. It was wrong from the get-go,” Aposhian said Thursday.

Attorney Mitch Vilos, who specializes in Uta

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