A 22-year-old man believed to be the shooter in the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has been taken into custody. Tyler Robinson, a former student of Utah Valley University (UVU), where the murder occurred, was arrested after allegedly confessing to a family member.
The shooting occurred on Wednesday (Sept. 10), during the first stop of Kirk’s The American Comeback Tour. Kirk was debating a student about gun regulation when a single shot rang out and Kirk was struck in the neck.
Graphic footage of the incident shows that Kirk immediately lost large amounts of blood. He was transported to a local hospital where he was later confirmed dead at the age of 31.
President Donald Trump broke the news of Kirk’s death, saying, “No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us.”
Kirk leaves behind his wife, Erika, and the couple’s two young children.
Following the shooting, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox characterized Kirk’s death as a “political assassination.” Authorities detained two persons of interest in relation to the shooting but later released them. The FBI then put out an offer of a $100,000 reward for any information leading to the capture of the assailant.
At a press conference on Friday, Gov. Cox announced that Robinson had been apprehended, saying, “We got him.”
Flanked by FBI Director Kash Patel, Cox said that investigators identified Robinson by analyzing surveillance footage, interviewing those close to Robinson, and reviewing online messages sent by Robinson.
Cox said that a friend of Robinson’s family contacted police after a family member indicated to that friend that Robinson had confessed to Kirk’s murder. When police interviewed Robinson’s family, a family member said that Robinson had “become more political in recent years.”
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“The family member referenced a recent incident in which Robinson came to dinner prior to Sept. 10, and in the conversation with another family member, Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU,” Cox said. “They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints he had.”
