(Washington Times) The manhunt for Charlie Kirk’s killer is over, authorities said Friday.
It ended with the arrest of a 22-year-old man who reportedly despised Kirk’s viewpoints.
Police arrested Tyler Robinson in the shooting death of the rising conservative star, Utah Governor Spencer Cox announced Friday.
“We got him,” Cox said at a press conference.
Robinson had “confessed” to “a family friend,” the governor said, who then contacted the Washington County, Utah, Sheriff’s Office.
The hunt for a suspect concluded nearly two days after a sniper’s bullet struck down Kirk as he gathered with students on the campus of Utah Valley University.
Kirk was engaging with students on hot-button issues and was answering a question, from his conservative viewpoint, about transgender students and mass shootings.
Authorities now say the sniper, who killed Kirk with a single .30-06 round from a Mauser bolt-action rifle, was Robinson.
He has been booked into the Utah County Jail.
Emerging details paint a picture of a young man who grew increasingly hateful of conservatives and, in particular, Kirk, who had stirred hatred on the left by opposing transgender ideology, abortion, illegal immigration and diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
Law enforcement recovered a bolt-action rifle wrapped in a towel and dumped in the woods near the university campus. A spent round was in the chamber and shell casings left beside the gun were carved up with messages. Among the messages were “Hey fascist, catch!” and “If you read this you are gay, LMAO.”
Robinson, the governor said, had become “more political” in recent years, and had said disparaging things about Charlie Kirk, according to his family. They said Robinson had made statements indicating he was aware of Kirk’s scheduled appearance at Utah Valley University. His car matched the description of the Dodge Charger police say the suspect drove to the campus.
Robinson was not a student at the university.
Police posted a mugshot of Robinson online, and sleuths dug into his social media footprint, reposting photos of him standing in his bedroom wearing clothing and Converse sneakers that looked similar to the apparel seen on a suspect caught on security camera footage.
Cox said he expected Robinson to be formally charged next week.
Earlier, President Donald Trump first announced the suspect was caught on Fox & Friends.
He said Robinson’s father turned him in and a minister was involved in it.
“Somebody very close to him said, ‘That’s him,’ and went to the father, went to law enforcement,” Trump said. “The person was involved in law enforcement but was a person of faith, a minister. He brought him to a U.S. Marshall and the father convinced the son, ‘This is it.”
The FBI had circulated photographs of the suspect on Thursday and received more than 10,000 tips.
