OREM, Utah (TNND) — The shooter in the assassination of political activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University on Wednesday has been caught after being turned in by family members, according to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox.
“We got him,” Cox said. “On the evening of Sept. 11, a family member of Tyler Robinson reached out to a family friend who contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with information that Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident.”
Tyler Robinson, 22, of Utah, was identified by Cox as the suspect and stated that investigators interviewed a family member who said the suspect had become more political in recent years.
“The family member referenced a recent incident in which Robinson came to dinner prior to Sept. 10, and in that conversation with another family member, Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU,” Cox explained. “They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said Robinson was taken into custody 33 hours after the deadly shooting, adding that the agency had received over 11,000 leads as of Friday morning.
Patel also delivered a heartfelt message to Kirk during the news conference.
Cox told reporters that it is believed Robinson acted alone in the shooting, “but the investigation is ongoing.”
“We do not at this time have any information that would lead to any additional arrests,” the governor said.
Kirk was shot in the neck on Wednesday in what police called a “targeted attack” as he allegedly discussed transgender shooters with a crowd at Utah Valley University in Orem. He co-founded the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA and was a close ally of Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
Videos showed stunned attendees running away and screaming as Kirk reached up to touch his neck while blood gushed from the left side.
According to the FBI, a high-powered, bolt-action riflewas recovered in the woods near the scene. Surveillance footage showed the shooter jumping off the roof and fleeing.
President Donald Trump said early Friday morning, while appearing on “Fox &Friends,” that “with a high degree of certainty” the suspect was in custody. He added that “someone very close to him turned him in.”
“It was a minister, and the minister went to a friend – a minister who’s involved in law enforcement, by the way, and his good friend is a top US marshal, and they took it from there and then it was a father got involved,” he said.
The president called Kirk “the finest person” while saying he hopes the shooter gets the death penalty.
Well, I hope — he’s going to be found guilty, I would imagine — and I hope he gets the death penalty,” Trump said. “What he did, Charlie Kirk, he was the finest person that he didn’t deserve this. He worked so hard and so well, everybody liked him.
Cox signaled on Thursday that he would seek the death penalty for the shooter.
Federal investigators and state officials released photos and video of the person of interest on Thursday.
Robert Bohls, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Salt Lake City field office, told reporters that footwear impressions, a palm print, and forearm imprints found at the scene would be analyzed by the FBI.
Authorities were able to track the movements of the shooter, who arrived on campus at 11:52 a.m., according to Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason.
We have tracked his movements onto the campus, through the stairwells, up to the roof, across the river to a shooting location,” Mason explained. “After the shooting, we were able to track his movements as he moved to the other side of the building, jumped off of the building and fled off of the campus into a neighborhood.”
Trump announced during his appearance at the 9/11 memorial event in New York City that he will posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S.
“Charlie was a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty, and an inspiration to millions and millions of people,” Trump said. “We miss him greatly, yet I have no doubt that Charlie’s voice and the courage he put into the hearts of countless people, especially young people, will live on.”
