Tyler Robinson, 22, who was confirmed as the suspect in the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk earlier this week, had become increasingly political in recent weeks and mentioned during a family dinner that the 31-year-old icon was coming to speak at Utah Valley University, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Friday.
His comments came during a press conference following reports from The Associated Press, NBC News, and the New York Post citing sources who named Robinson as the suspect.
The Daily Mail, quoting law enforcement sources, reported Friday that Robinson was taken into custody after his father — a 27-year veteran of Utah’s Washington County Sheriff’s Office — contacted authorities and turned in his son.
Robinson was arrested around 10 p.m. Thursday at his home in Washington, Utah, about 260 miles south of the assassination in Orem. Cox confirmed that a family member had recognized him from photographs released of a person of interest, according to NBC News.
The governor did not identify the family member, but several media outlets — and President Donald Trump on Friday — reported that Robinson confessed to his father.
Officials as of Friday morning had not identified a motive. Authorities said Thursday night that a conviction could carry the death penalty.
“I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him,” Trump told “Fox & Friends” during a live interview from the network’s Manhattan studio, saying he was informed just minutes before the 8 a.m. broadcast.
“Somebody who was very close to him turned him in,” the president said, adding that the tip came through “a minister who was involved with law enforcement.”
Trump added that he hopes Robinson will be “found guilty, and I hope he gets the death penalty. What he did — Charlie Kirk was the finest person, and he didn’t deserve this.”
The president also said he refused to watch the disturbing footage. “I didn’t watch,” he said of the graphic videos. “I heard about it … I would have never made a good doctor, let me put it that way. I mean, I heard enough. I didn’t want to watch it … I didn’t want to remember Charlie that way.”
Robinson’s arrest followed a manhunt that stretched more than a day and a half, with officials offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to his capture.
Surveillance footage showed a figure on a rooftop leaping from a building and sprinting into a nearby neighborhood after Kirk was shot from about 200 yards away. Investigators also recovered a Converse shoe impression, along with a palm and forearm print, from the rooftop where the shots were fired.
Multiple suspects were initially apprehended and later released after questioning.
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