U.S. and Utah law enforcement officials said Friday that they had arrested a suspect, Tyler Robinson, in connection with the fatal shooting of the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, ending an intense manhunt after the killing two days ago.
“We got him,” Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah said at a news conference.
The confirmation from authorities came shortly after President Trump said that a person was in custody in connection with the shooting. Mr. Trump said on “Fox and Friends” that the person had been apprehended after a minister involved with law enforcement had communicated with the person’s father.
A law enforcement official said the arrest happened in St. George, Utah, about 250 miles southwest of the campus where Mr. Kirk was killed.
The capture came after two people were taken into custody on Wednesday, the day of the shooting, but later released after the authorities determined that they had not been involved. On Thursday, the authorities released video and photo images of a person seen on a nearby roof during the shooting and pleaded with the public for help finding answers.
Mr. Kirk, a close ally of Mr. Trump, was fatally shot while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. The video footage from the campus in Orem, Utah, showed a person running across the roof of a nearby building after the shooting, dropping to the ground and walking across a busy street before disappearing into a wooded area.
Earlier, the F.B.I. said it had recovered a high-powered bolt-action rifle from that wooded area. The authorities released images of a man in a stairwell wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses and a black shirt adorned with an eagle and an American flag.
Officials believe the person “blended in well” at the scene of the shooting because he appeared to “be of college age.” They said he arrived on campus shortly before noon local time and climbed a stairway up to the roof of a university building.
Here’s what else to know:
Trump comments: Announcements of major arrests often come at orchestrated news conferences. In this case, President Trump announced the arrest on “Fox and Friends,” the Fox News television news show, and said he had learned about the arrest moments before coming on the air.
Death penalty: Gov. Spencer Cox of Utah said prosecutors would pursue the death penalty once a suspect was caught. The F.B.I. has offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest of the shooter.
Leadership test: The actions of Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, in the wake of Mr. Kirk’s killing have invited scrutiny and scorn. This represents a grave leadership test for Mr. Patel, after his swift pronouncements about the investigation revived concerns about his lack of experience. Read more ›
Last question: The last person to speak to Mr. Kirk before his assassination was a liberal TikToker who asked Mr. Kirk about mass shootings involving transgender people. The two went back and forth before the shot that killed Mr. Kirk rang out.
Live Updates: Utah Governor Says Man Is in Custody in Connection With Charlie Kirk’s Killing
“We got him,” Gov. Spencer Cox said at a news conference, adding that a family member of the suspect contacted a family friend who then contacted law enforcement.
Authorities hold a news conference at 9 a.m. ET on Sept. 12 following the capture of the suspect in the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Expected speakers include Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox, FBI Director Kash Patel, Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason, and FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert Bohls.
‘We got him’: Utah governor
Utah Governor Spencer Cox kicks off a news conference by confirming the capture of the suspect in the killing of Charlie Kirk with a direct announcement.
“We got him,” Cox said.
Trump makes distinction between ‘radicals’ on the left and right
The US president has faced criticism for blaming Kirk’s killing on “radical left lunatics”, long before any suspect had been taken into custody or motive discerned.
Analysts have said such statements undermine Trump’s appeals to end political violence. Critics have also accused the president of emboldening violent actors on the right, notably by pardoning thousands of his supporters who stormed the US Capitol in 2021.
But Trump has stood by his characterisation, drawing a distinction earlier today between “radicals” on the left and right.
“The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don’t want to see crime,” Trump said on Fox & Friends news programme.
“The radicals on the left are the problem. They’re vicious and they’re horrible, and they’re politically savvy,” he said.
Trump acknowledged the brazen delineation would “get me in trouble”. He added, “But I couldn’t care less.”
Manhunt Over—Shooter in Custody
Authorities in Utah have confirmed that the suspect behind the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University is now in custody.
Law enforcement officials reported that after a statewide manhunt, the shooter—believed to have carried out a targeted rooftop attack—was successfully apprehended late Thursday evening.
The FBI and local police confirmed the arrest, noting that the individual is being held for interrogation as investigators work to establish motive and determine whether others were involved.
This marks a major development after hours of confusion and fear, as initial detentions had proven unrelated to the crime.
an official confirmation is expected shortly.
To Honor Charlie All proceeds from our Country Music Chalie Kirk Shirt will be donated to support Charlie Kirk’s family.
• Charlie Kirk, a conservative political activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, has been fatally shot at an event at Utah Valley University.
• The shooter fired once, according to Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason, who called it “a targeted attack towards one individual.” The shot came from a long distance, “potentially from a roof,” he added.
• The manhunt is still underway. Two people who were considered suspects were later released, the department said.
• There has been an outpouring of condemnation from both sides of the aisle. President Donald Trump described Kirk’s death as a “dark day for America” and previewed a broader plan to crack down on political violence.
• As Trump remade the Republican Party, Kirk embodied the GOP’s newfound populist conservatism in the social media age. Trump has credited Kirk with galvanizing and mobilizing the youth vote for him.
2 earlier suspects not tied to shooting and released, police say
Two people who were considered suspects in the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk were later released as neither have “current ties to the shooting,” the Utah Department of Public Safety said in a statement.
One person was charged with obstructing university police, as they previously announced during a news conference, but the department didn’t say why either person was considered a suspect.
“There is an ongoing investigation and manhunt for the shooter,” it said.
“Emotion was very high in the room”: Johnson describes chaotic scene on House floor following Kirk’s shooting
Speaker Mike Johnson told CNN tonight that the shouting match that erupted on the House floor following Charlie Kirk’s shooting “was a reflection of the emotion of the moment.”
“The emotion was very high in the room,” Johnson told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on “The Source.”
During the tense exchange, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who was close to Kirk personally, began hurling expletives at Democrats, a person who witnessed the exchange previously told CNN.
“You f**king caused this,” Luna shouted across the House chamber, according to another person who overheard her remarks. Democrats then shouted back about a school shooting in Colorado earlier that day and a call for action on gun violence.
“A lot of people will reflect upon things they said and did in that moment, and they probably regret it,” Johnson said.
The speaker also warned that the words of lawmakers could have consequences, such as political violence.
“You’ve had people who have resorted to political violence because they were encouraged along by the dialogue out in the public square, and some of that is put forward by, by elected officials and people with large platforms, large social media platforms,” Johnson said, adding: “This is not who we are. We’re better than this.”
“This hurts because it was so senseless,” Oklahoma Sen. Markywane Mullin says
Oklahoma Sen. Markywane Mullin, who was a close friend of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, said “this hurts because it was so senseless.”
“We all hold a responsibility to this, Republicans, Democrats, news outlets to the left and to the right,” he told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins. “I hope, be it the rhetoric on the right and the left, that we can reset out of this.”
The GOP lawmaker described Kirk as someone who “broke all norms” in political interaction, and an “unapologetic Christian and an unapologetic proponent for traditional values.”
Speaker Johnson says many lawmakers want increased security following Kirk’s death
House Speaker Mike Johnson told CNN tonight there has been a “deluge” of lawmakers who are calling for heightened security in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s killing.
“I think many of them are nervous, of course” Johnson told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, referring to his colleagues in Congress. “They’re public figures. They’re exposed all the time, everywhere. We have great security measures for members of Congress, but there’s a desire on many people’s parts to have more.”
Johnson added on “The Source” that he is looking into that request, saying, “We have to take serious measures for serious times.”
The speaker also echoed the comments some of his colleagues made today, stressing the impact of words and civility.
“At the end of the day, I think the call is that we’ve got to recognize once more that we are all fellow Americans. We are. We should see one another as colleagues and fellow citizens and fellow countrymen and not as enemies. That’s not what Charlie Kirk represented. He genuinely loved the debate because he genuinely loved the people,” he said.
Johnson later added, “We need to be thinking thoughtfully about our language and what we’re saying and how we treat one another,” Johnson said. “This could be a big moment … I feel like something has changed.”
First lady Melania Trump calls for "compassionate awareness" in aftermath of Charlie Kirk's death
First lady Melania Trump called for “compassionate awareness” after the killing of Charlie Kirk, mourning on behalf of the conservative activist’s two small children.
Kirk was a trusted ally of the president but also became a close friend of the Trump family.
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1 Comments
Why do you claim manhunt over when it is not.. I'm watching live news and there is no such thing ,why would you publish such lies about a devastating thing that happened to Charlie Kirk, you are a weak cruel person to publish such bs...
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