A person believed to be the shooter who killed Christian conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a TPUSA college event in Utah has been arrested, President Donald Trump has said.
In an interview on Fox News on Friday morning, Trump said, “I feel, with a high degree of certainty, now we have him — in custody … everyone did an awesome job. We worked with the local police, the governor, everybody did an awesome job.”
He continued, “I hope that he [is] going to be found guilty, I might imagine, and I hope he gets the death penalty. What he did, Charlie Kirk, was the best person, but he didn’t deserve this. He worked so hard and so well. Everybody liked him. I’ve been watching, even the Left is having a tough time,” the president added.
Authorities confirmed that the suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson of Utah, is within the custody of U.S. Marshals, MSNBC reported, adding that a member of the family turned him in after a minister recognized the suspect and got involved with the family.
US Vice President JD Vance, who was an in depth friend of Kirk’s, said on X, “This is a giant breakthrough, and everybody who helped – from the law enforcement professionals to the people giving suggestions – deserves our credit and gratitude.”
He added, “Say a prayer for [wife] Erika Kirk and people two beautiful babies. We took a giant step this morning in getting justice for Charlie, and for his family. Thanks be to God for that.”
An influential conservative activist, the 31-year-old Kirk was speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem on Wednesday when he was fatally shot within the neck at 12:20 p.m. Mountain time.
The campus was placed on lockdown while Kirk was rushed to a neighborhood hospital, with the husband and father of two young children dying from his wound shortly after the shooting.
At a press conference held Thursday morning, FBI Special Agent Robert Bohls said that authorities had recovered a “high-powered bolt-action rifle” believed to be the murder weapon. Authorities also found shoe prints, a palm print and forearm imprints in a wooded area near campus that the shooter had fled to.
Beau Mason, commissioner of the Utah Department of Public Safety, told those gathered on the press conference that the suspect was “college-age” and that that they had video images of him.
“We do have good video footage of this individual, we usually are not going to release that right now,” Mason said earlier within the day, adding that if authorities “are unsuccessful” in identifying the suspect, then “we’ll reach out” to the media and the general public “to assist.”
Later that day, FBI Salt Lake City issued a temporary statement explaining that they were “offering a reward of as much as $100,000 for information resulting in the identification and arrest of the person(s) chargeable for the murder of Charlie Kirk.”
The FBI office also released a few images showing an individual of interest. The images show a person wearing sunglasses, a blue cap featuring a triangle logo, and a black, long-sleeved shirt with a picture of an American flag and an eagle.
Last night, one other press conference was held wherein authorities released 4 additional images and a video showing the suspect jumping off the roof of a constructing after the shooting.
