Nearly two days after conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was fatally shot at Utah Valley University, the FBI announced the suspect had been taken into custody.
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During a press conference on Sept. 12, FBI Director Kash Patel and his team officially confirmed the news. The suspect has been identified as Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah resident.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox revealed the person who turned Robinson in said he had confessed to being the shooter. Robinson was said to have mentioned Kirk at a dinner days before the shooting, stating the reasons why he hated the famed conservative influencer.
The FBI and other law enforcement agencies in the investigation have recovered the weapon, a Mauser .30-06 caliber bolt-action rifle, that was believed to be used in the shooting. The gun and ammunition were discovered in a wooded area not too far from the university’s campus.
It was confirmed that some of the unspent cartridges with the weapon had wording on them that was described as “transgender and anti-fascist” words.
The Turning Point USA founder and President Trump ally was on the Utah Valley University campus on Wednesday, for his The American Comeback Tour, when he was shot in the neck. Although he was taken to a nearby hospital and placed in critical condition, the Turning Point USA founder succumbed to his injury.
Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason previously stated the shot was made from roughly 175 yards from Kirk on a nearby roof. Robinson was taken into custody in the evening hours of Thursday.
Although Robinson is in custody, the investigation is still ongoing.
President Trump Said ‘Someone Close’ to the Suspect Turned Him In
While appearing on Fox & Friends just before the press conference, President Trump stated that the FBI found the suspect with help from someone close to him.
“Essentially, somebody that was very close to him turned him in,” Trump’s aide. “That happens when you have some of those good shots.”
Trump continued by stating the person who tipped the FBI was involved in law enforcement and a “person of faith.”
“A minister,” he said.
The president further shared that the suspect’s father has cooperated with investigators.
" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">President Trump further shared that Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA will continue to operate. “He had a passion for this,” Trump said about Kirk. “I spoke to his wife yesterday. She’s like devastated, but in between the devastation, they want to keep Turning Point going.”
Trump then added that he hopes the suspect gets the death penalty if found guilty.
“In Utah, they have the death penalty, and you have a very good governor there,” he said. “The governor, I’ve gotten to know him, the governor is very intent on the death penalty in this case.”
President Trump stated he hasn’t watched the videos of Kirk’s shooting. “I heard about it,” he added. “I would have never made a good doctor. Let me put it that way… No, I mean… I heard enough.”