The individual suspected in the deadly attack on Charlie Kirk, a well-known conservative figure, is said to have voiced negative opinions about him during a family dinner several days before Wednesday’s horrific incident at Utah Valley University.
Utah’s Governor, Spencer Cox, informed in a press briefing on Friday that the suspect, Tyler Robinson, aged 22, had expressed his aversion to Kirk, 31, the creator and head of Turning Point USA. “Investigators spoke with a relative of Robinson who indicated that Robinson had grown increasingly political over time,” Cox, a member of the Republican Party, stated.
This relative recounted a recent event in which Robinson turned up for dinner and, during a conversation with another family member, mentioned Charlie Kirk’s impending visit to Utah Valley University. They discussed their disdain for him and his viewpoints. This family member also opined that Kirk was a figure of hate and was spreading hate.
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Multiple media outlets reported that Robinson was apprehended on Thursday night after his father identified him from images circulated by the FBI. Robinson’s father persuaded him to surrender himself to the authorities, overturning Robinson’s initial impulse to end his own life rather than face capture. He was convinced to communicate with a local youth minister who also has ties with the U.S. Marshals Service, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Robinson was charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a weapon resulting in severe injury, and obstruction of justice. The charge of aggravated murder carries with it the potential of a death sentence. Official charges are anticipated early next week.
Reports indicate that Governor Cox disclosed that Robinson’s roommate guided investigators to Discord, an online platform where the suspect allegedly discussed a rifle and the necessity to retrieve it from a concealed location. The roommate permitted investigators to document several messages. The posts detailed leaving a rifle wrapped in a towel in a bush, monitoring the location, engraving bullets, adding a scope, and changing outfits.
Law enforcement announced on Thursday that they had discovered a rifle concealed in a towel in a wooded area in the vicinity of the university’s campus in Orem. It was identified by Governor Cox as a Mauser Model 98, .30-06 caliber bolt-action rifle with a mounted scope.
Further developments in this case will undoubtedly shed more light on the motivations and actions of the suspect and the tragic loss of Charlie Kirk.