Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer arrested after confessing a father

A 22-year-old from Utah was arrested for killing the right activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot while on stage at a university event earlier this week.

Tyler Robinson was removed late on Thursday after a 33-hour Mannth, which ended after his father helped him persuade him to surrender to the police.

His arrest was first announced by US President Donald Trump, who called on the suspect to face the death penalty.

The murder of Kirk, who was shot dead during discussion with students on Wednesday, shocked the Americans and bare the country’s sharp divisions.

Investigators said at a press conference on Friday that the suspect had confessed to his father and said he would take his life soon than to surrender. Then the father called a youthful pastor who is a family friend.

Both men have tried to reassure the suspect, police said. The pastor, who also served as a court security officer, later called the American Marshals, who detained the suspects around 10:00 pm local time on Thursday.

Utah Governor Spencer Cox said the observation images show that G -n -Robinson arrives at the University of Utah’s campus about four hours before the shot to shoot, kill Kirk and send students who run for cover.

Cox told journalists that when Robinson was taken in guard, he wears clothes similar to what was visible to CCTV cameras at the scene of the shooting.

The governor added that investigators have interviewed a family member who said the suspect has become more political in recent years.

Cox said that the family member spoke of a recent incident when Robinson mentioned that Kirk was coming to Utah and that he “is full of hatred and spreads hatred.”

Cox said investigators also talked to a suspect roommate who showed them an account exchange called “Tyler” in the message application.

The messages referred to the need to extract a rifle from the “fall point” and to leave the firearm in a shrub wrapped in a towel.

The FBI said on Thursday that they had found the suspect weapon – an imported Mauser .30-06 Bolt Action Pufle – wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near the campus.

Cox told reporters that inscriptions were found engraved on shells restored with a rifle that has a range mounted on top.

The inscriptions included “Hey Fascist! Catch!” and “O Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao”.

“Bella Ciao” means “Goodbye Beautiful” in Italian. This is also the title of a song dedicated to the Italian resistance that fights against the occupying troops of Nazi Germany.

The governor of Utah said he was not familiar with potential additional arrests in the investigation.

State prosecutors have said they have planned to raise official accusations against G -n -Robinson on Tuesday.

He is charged with aggravated murder, obstruction of justice, and a crime of firearms release, according to a sheriff list for reservations of Utah County obtained by the BBC.

Students at the University of Utah Valley have told the BBC that they are relieved to hear about arrest.

The campus is closed after the shooting on Wednesday afternoon – with yellow bands and police vehicles block much of the school.

“He was detained in Washington County, where I am from,” said the first year student McKinley Schinkle. “I just feel deeply shame.”

“I’m definitely relieved,” McKinley Anthony’s cousin added. “Now I’m just worried to hear his motives and why it happened.”

The public records viewed by the BBC suggest that G -n -Robinson has registered as an unconsent – or a non -partisan voter in Utah in the past. Matthew Carl Robinson, the father of the suspect, and Amber Denise Robinson, the mother of suspects, are registered Republicans, state records show.

Voting records show that he does not vote in the last presidential election, according to CBS News, the US BBC partner. He was not an adult enough to vote in 2020.

The suspect lives in St. George, Utah, near Zion National Park, about 250 miles (400 km) southwest of the campus where Kirk is shot.

He is a third year student in an electrical apprenticeship program at the Dixie Technical College in Southwestern Utah, where he lived, a spokesman for the University of Uta Vali speaks to the BBC.

Social media accounts indicate that G -n -Robinson’s father runs a business with a kitchen countertop and a cabinet while his mother is a social worker. The family is Mormon and active in the local church.