Authorities arrested a 22-year-old suspect for the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk on Thursday (11th September) following a 33-hour manhunt. The suspect, Tyler Robinson, was arrested after he confessed to his father, who informed the authorities.
Tyler Robinson, a college dropout, has reportedly been accused of aggravated murder, obstruction of justice, and felony discharge of a firearm. Formal charges against him will be filed on Tuesday (16th September). Before Robinson’s arrest, the FBI had announced a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person responsible for Kirk’s killing. The authorities reportedly received over 7000 leads and tips after they announced the reward for the identification of Kirk’s shooter.
The suspect confessed to his father
31-year-old Charlie Kirk was shot dead on stage at Utah Valley University, Utah, while addressing students on Wednesday (10th September). Two people were taken into custody shortly after the incident, but were later released. Informing the media about the arrest of Robinson on Friday (12th September), Utah Governor Spencer Cox said that Robinson confessed to his father about killing Kirk and said that he would rather commit suicide than surrender. His father called a family friend, who is a pastor and also serves as a court security officer. The pastor then informed the US Marshals who arrested Robinson.
Governor Cox said that CCTV images showed the suspect arriving on the university campus on the day of the incident, around four hours before Kirk was shot. He added that when the suspect was taken into custody, he was wearing clothes similar to what he was seen wearing in CCTV footage at the scene of the shooting. The Governor further said that the investigators interviewed a family member of the suspect, who said that he became more political in recent years. The family member also revealed that Robinson mentioned that Kirk would be visiting the university and that he “was full of hate and spreading hate”.
The investigators also talked to the roommate of Robinson, as revealed by Governor Cox. The roommate showed the investigators some messages with an account named Tyler on the messaging app Discord. The messages referred to retrieving a rifle from a drop point, and the rifle being wrapped in a towel and left in a bush.
Possible Antifa links in Kirk’s murder
Notably, the FBI found an imported Mauser .30-06 bolt action rifle wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near the university campus on Thursday. The rifle has some engravings said to be linked to the Anti-fascist (Antifa) movement, including the words “hey fascist! CATCH!” and “O Bella ciao, Bella ciao”. ‘Bella Ciao’, in Italian, means “goodbye beautiful” and is also the title of an Italian resistance folk song, which has been adopted by the Antifa as its unofficial anthem. The song is frequently played at Antifa’s rallies, and the title often features on their signs and slogans. The investigators also found other messages on the bullet casings, including memes and video game jargon, which they are trying to decipher.
As per reports, Tyler Robinson is a third-year student in an electrical apprenticeship programme at Dixie Technical College in south-west Utah. His social media reportedly revealed that his father runs a kitchen countertop and cabinet installation business, and his mother is a social worker. He secured a four-year scholarship to Utah Valley University in Logan after scoring in the top percentile on his college entrance exam. However, he abruptly left the university after attending a semester after which he took a leave of absence and did not return.
