OREM, Utah (AP) — The suspect in the Charlie Kirk assassination has been captured, President Donald Trump said Friday in an announcement representing a significant breakthrough in the investigation into a targeted killing that raised fresh alarms about political violence in the United States.
“With a high degree of certainty, we have him,” Trump announced in a live interview on Fox News Chanel. He said a minister also involved with law enforcement turned the suspect in to authorities.
“Somebody that was very close to him said, ‘Hmm, that’s him,’” Trump said.
Tyler Robinson, 22, had become “more political” in the run-up to the shooting and had indicated to a family friend afterward that he was responsible, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said. Cox also cited as key pieces of evidence engravings on bullets found in a rifle believed used in the attack as well as chatting app messages attributed to the shooting suspect that a roommate shared with law enforcement.
Cox, a Republican, called Kirk's killing an “attack on the American experiment,” and he urged a new generation to “choose a different path.”
Robinson is believed to have acted alone, and the investigation is ongoing, Cox said.
Robinson's arrest early Friday morning was disclosed by President Donald Trump, who said in a Fox News Channel interview that, “With a high degree of certainty, we have him.”
Calls to telephone numbers listed for Robinson in public records rang unanswered.
News of the arrest came hours after the FBI and state officials had pleaded for public help by releasing additional photographs of the suspect, a move that seemed to indicate that law enforcement was uncertain of the person's whereabouts.
Kirk was killed by a single shot in what police said was a targeted attack and Utah’s governor called a political assassination. Kirk co-founded the nonprofit political organization Turning Point USA, based in Arizona.
Authorities recovered a high-powered, bolt-action rifle near the scene of the shooting and had said the shooter jumped off a roof and vanished into the nearby woods afterward.
Kirk had been speaking at a debate hosted by Turning Point at Utah Valley University at the time of Wednesday's shooting. He was taken to a local hospital and was pronounced dead hours later.
“He wanted to help young people, and he didn’t deserve this,” Trump said Friday. “He was really a good person.”
Federal investigators and state officials on Thursday had released photos and a video of the person they believe is responsible. Kirk was shot as he spoke to a crowd gathered in a courtyard at the university in Orem.
More than 7,000 leads and tips had poured in, officials said. Authorities have yet to cite a motive in the killing, the latest act of political violence to convulse the United States.
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Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said the suspect had indicated to a family friend that he was connected to the shooting. Cox, a Republican, said the suspect had grown more political and was opposed to Kirk’s beliefs
The suspect in custody in connection with Kirk's killing is a 22-year-old from Utah, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. Authorities have identified the suspect as Tyler Robinson, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Calls to telephone numbers listed for Robinson in public records rang unanswered.
The FBI and the Justice Department did not immediately comment, but a news conference in Utah, where the killing took place on a college campus this week, was planned for later Friday. News of the arrest came hours after the FBI and state officials had pleaded for public help by releasing additional photographs of the suspect, a move that seemed to indicate that law enforcement was uncertain of the person's whereabouts.
Kirk was killed by a single shot in what police said was a targeted attack and Utah’s governor called a political assassination. Kirk co-founded the nonprofit political organization Turning Point USA, based in Arizona.
Authorities recovered a high-powered, bolt-action rifle near the scene of the shooting and had said the shooter jumped off a roof and vanished into the nearby woods afterward.
Kirk had been speaking at a debate hosted by Turning Point at Utah Valley University at the time of Wednesday's shooting. He was taken to a local hospital and was pronounced dead hours later.
“He wanted to help young people, and he didn’t deserve this,” Trump said Friday. “He was really a good person.”
Federal investigators and state officials on Thursday had released photos and a video of the person they believe is responsible. Kirk was shot as he spoke to a crowd gathered in a courtyard at the university in Orem.