Officials announced Friday that a suspect had been arrested in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Tyler Robinson, a Utah native, was identified as the person who shot and killed Kirk on Wednesday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced at a press conference on Friday.
“Ladies and gentlemen, we got him,” Cox said during a press conference on Friday.
Robinson, 22, has been booked into Utah County Jail. According to Cox, charging documents against Robinson are expected to be filed early next week.
He was arrested for felony firearm discharge, aggravated murder, and obstruction of justice, according to probable cause documents.
“I want to thank the family members of Tyler Robinson who did the right thing in this case and were able to bring him in to law enforcement,” Cox informed the audience.
On Thursday night, a family friend contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, claiming Robinson confessed or implied that he had killed Kirk, Cox said.
Investigators interviewed a Robinson family member, who stated that the suspect had “become more political in recent years,” according to Cox.
In a recent incident, a family member told investigators that Robinson came to dinner and mentioned Kirk’s visit to Utah Valley University to another family member. They discussed why they disliked him and his viewpoints.
Forensic evidence has been seized and is still being gathered. FBI Director Kash Patel stated that forensic evidence has already been evaluated at the FBI laboratories in Quantico. The FBI received more than 11,000 leads, he said.
Writing on bullet cartridges
Among the evidence were the rifle, which was recovered from a bush near the building where the shooting occurred, as well as several bullet cartridges bearing writing. One said, “Hey, fascist! CATCH!” while another had the Italian lyrics to a song, “Bella, ciao,” and another said, “If you read this, you are GAY Lmao.”
Aside from the mention of fascism, which Cox stated “speaks for itself,” he did not elaborate on the meanings of the other writings.
Officials do not expect to make any additional arrests at this time, Cox said. He said he couldn’t say whether the suspect was cooperating with law enforcement.
The suspect was not a student at UVU. He was and had been living with his family in St. George, in southern Washington County, about a four-hour drive from Orem, where the shooting occurred, according to officials.
Cox urged young people to create a “culture that is very different than what we are suffering through right now.”
“To my young friends out there, you are inheriting a country in which politics evokes rage. It seems like rage is the only option. “But those words serve as a reminder that we can take a different path,” Cox said.
What Trump said
The press conference came shortly after President Donald Trump confirmed that the suspected shooter was in custody.
“I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him in custody,” Trump told “Fox & Friends” earlier Friday morning.
He made an additional statement, “Subject to change but the facts are the facts we have the person that we think is the person we’re looking for.”
Trump claimed he learned of someone’s arrest only five minutes before going on air for the scheduled interview.
“Essentially, somebody that was very close to him turned him in,” he stated.
Trump stated that the suspect’s father went to authorities and convinced his son, “and this is it.”
According to sources, the suspect’s father identified his son as the person wanted by police in photographs distributed by the authorities.
According to sources, the father told his son to turn himself in. The son initially declined, but later changed his mind.
The suspect’s father contacted a youth pastor who is also a US Marshals task force officer. According to sources, the task force officer advised him to keep his son in place, and U.S. Marshals arrested him and contacted the FBI.
Trump reiterated in the interview that the shooter should face the death penalty.
“In Utah, you have death penalty, and a good governor there, I have gotten to know him,” Trump said of Cox’s appointment. “The governor is intent on the death penalty in this case and he should be.”
Video captures suspect jumping down from roof
A video of the suspect, shown during a news conference with state and federal officials Thursday evening, shows the apparent gunman climbing down from the roof of a building on the Utah Valley University campus, where authorities believe he fired the fatal shot before fleeing the scene.
The video appeared to show the suspect walking with an unusual gait, similar to a limp. According to ABC News, investigators believe he had the rifle hidden under his clothes.
“Prior to the shooting, the suspect appears to walk with a stiff right leg and at a slow pace.” Utah County’s affidavit stated that the suspect’s ability to bend his right leg appears to be restricted.
The affidavit later states that as Robinson approached the shooting position, his limp was “absent.”
According to sources, investigators believe this occurred because the suspect was no longer concealing the gun in his clothing.
Sources also believe he did not conceal the weapon in his clothing as he fled the scene.
Utah authorities released photos of the person of interest in the shooting on Thursday, showing him walking up the stairs to the top of the building where the shooting occurred while carrying a black backpack and wearing a shirt with what appeared to be an American flag print on it.
The FBI announced Thursday that it had recovered what it believes to be the weapon used in the deadly shooting. According to Salt Lake City FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls, a “high-powered bolt action rifle” was found in a wooded area near the shooting scene.
The rifle is an older, imported Mauser. Multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News that the 30-06 caliber bolt action rifle was wrapped in a towel. According to the sources, the firearm’s location appears to match the suspect’s route of travel.
According to officials, at 11:52 a.m. on Wednesday, the suspect arrived on the Orem campus and then proceeded to travel through the stairwells up to the roof of a building near where the outdoor event was taking place, before firing down on Kirk, Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said on Thursday.
Kirk was shot once at about 12:20 p.m. and taken to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to authorities.
Mason said that after the shooting, the suspect went to the other side of the building, jumped off, and fled off-campus into a neighborhood.
Cox stated that violence is occurring throughout the country and that the political assassination of Kirk is “an attack on all of us.”
“I continue to believe in our country, as I know Charlie Kirk did. I continue to believe that there is more good than evil in the world, and that we have the ability to change the course of history. “I’m hopeful because Americans can make it happen,” Cox stated.
