Authorities have taken into custody the person they believe shot dead Charlie Kirk, a political activist and close ally of President Donald Trump.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox announced the major development at a press conference, opening with: “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We got him.”
Cox outlined how a family member of the suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, helped turn him in after he “confessed” or implied that he committed the incident.
Cox said one of Robinson’s family members told police he had become “more political” in recent months.
At a family dinner, Robinson spoke about how much he did not like Kirk, the 31-year-old Maga influencer, and how he was “spreading hate”.
Cox also confirmed anti-fascist slogans were inscribed on two of the unused bullet casings found at the scene of the fatal shooting.
Authorities say Tyler Robinson was arrested in St George, Utah, about 400km from the town of Orem, where Kirk was shot dead while speaking to a crowd at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
Law enforcement said his family had helped turn him in after he had suggested he was the shooter.
The Washington Post reports he is a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship programme at Dixie Technical College in St George, Utah, according to the Utah Board of Higher Education. He also attended Utah State University in Logan for one semester in 2021 and received concurrent enrolment credit through Utah Tech University in St George while in high school from 2019 to 2021.
Kirk, head of the country’s largest conservative youth movement, which he co-founded in 2012 at the age of 18, was speaking at around noon Wednesday when a shot rang out.
The 31-year-old collapsed with a neck wound, according to a video clip taken from nearby. Trump announced he was dead soon after.
Authorities say Robinson used a high-powered, bolt-action rifle, firing from the roof of a building about 185 metres away from his target. They said the killer was lying prone, a position that can increase accuracy.
Kirk was a hero to right-wingers and helped Trump build a large youth vote in his November presidential election victory. He was also a highly divisive figure, espousing hardline views on race, gender and gun ownership.
Even his many critics often hailed Kirk’s willingness to debate, however. Kirk was on a speaking tour when he went to the Utah university.
Authorities said they did not yet know the alleged shooter’s motive. He was not a student from the university.
Clues may lie in the inscriptions found on bullet casings at the crime scene.
One cartridge had written on it, “Hey, fascist! Catch!” said Utah Governor Spencer Cox.
Another featured “Bella ciao”, apparently a reference to a World War II-era Italian anti-fascist song.
Other cartridges were marked with symbols and wording that appeared to be from the online gaming culture.
The United States has had repeated politically motivated shootings and assaults over the past decade, including two assassination attempts on Trump, in addition to a history of political violence stretching back decades.
Mass shootings by typically young, disturbed men are also common, and powerful firearms are easily available.
Politicians on all sides quickly condemned the killing, many of them calling on Americans to heal growing divisions.
Trump’s first reaction on Wednesday was to blame “the radical left”. He toned his rhetoric down on Thursday and said that Kirk had been “an advocate of nonviolence”.
“That’s the way I’d like to see people respond,” he said.
Kirk is being treated as a national hero by the Trump administration.
Trump announced on Thursday he would posthumously decorate Kirk with America’s highest civilian honour, the Medal of Freedom.
The Republican President also told reporters that he would attend Kirk’s funeral.
Kirk’s coffin was transported to his home city of Phoenix on Vice President JD Vance’s official plane.
- Agence France-Presse