The circumstances surrounding the arrest of a suspect in the shooting death of US activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University have been described by the FBI.
After two days of searching, the agency held a press conference today (September 12) to declare that they had captured the culprit, Tyler Robinson.
The announcement followed the death of Kirk, a divisive political analyst and father of two, on Wednesday, September 10, while he was speaking at an event hosted by his business, Turning Point USA.
A suspect was spotted on the rooftop of a nearby building on the Utah campus, prompting authorities to request assistance in identifying the gunman.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox told reporters at the start of the press conference, “We got him.”
Cox described the FBI’s arrest process, saying that it received a tip from Robinson’s family member, who contacted a family acquaintance, who in turn notified the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.
The information that the tipster provided was that “Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident,” according to Cox.
The suspect had allegedly become’more political’ in recent years, according to a Robinson family member who was interrogated by investigators.
They described a specific episode that occurred before to the September 10 shooting, in which Robinson had gone to eat with the family member and struck up a conversation during which he indicated Kirk was scheduled to visit Utah Valley University.
“They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had,” stated Cox.
After examining camera footage that showed the suspect pulling up to the shooting site in a Dodge Challenger at around 08:29 local time on September 10, authorities were further able to connect Robinson to the case.
Wearing a “plain maroon t-shirt, light-colored shorts, a black hat with a white logo, and light-colored shoes,” the suspect was spotted.
Investigators discovered that Robinson was wearing clothes similar to those in the video when they contacted him on September 12.
Cox commended Robinson’s family for doing “the right thing” by calling the police and thanked law enforcement, the FBI, and the public for their assistance with the investigation.
“I especially want to thank the family of Charlie Kirk,” he said. “I want us to be thinking of them as we bring justice to this case.”
