President Donald Trump announced on Friday morning that a suspect has been taken into custody in connection with the fatal shooting of right‑wing activist Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University earlier this week.
Speaking during a live interview on Fox & Friends, Trump said he had been informed of the arrest moments before going on air. “I think with a high degree of certainty we have him in custody,” he told the programme, adding that someone close to the suspect had turned him in.
News agencies Reuters and the Associated Press, citing sources familiar with the investigation, named the suspect as Tyler Robinson, 22, of Utah. Official confirmation from law enforcement was still awaited at the time of the president’s remarks.
The killing of Mr Kirk, a prominent conservative commentator and founder of the student organisation Turning Point USA, occurred on Wednesday afternoon as he addressed thousands of people at the university. The gunman is believed to have fired a single shot from a rooftop before fleeing into a nearby neighbourhood.
The FBI had offered a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the suspect’s arrest. Newly released video footage showed a man wearing a hat, sunglasses and a long‑sleeved black shirt running across a roof, climbing down the side of the building and dropping to the ground.
Utah’s Republican governor, Spencer Cox, had repeatedly appealed for public assistance in locating the perpetrator and stated his support for the death penalty in the case. Mr Trump echoed that sentiment on Friday, saying: “In Utah you have the death penalty, and a good governor there… The governor is intent on the death penalty in this case and he should be.”
Kirk’s death parks reactions
The investigation has faced scrutiny after early missteps. On Wednesday, FBI director Kash Patel announced on social media that a suspect was in custody, only for that individual to be released hours later without charge. The search for the gunman then resumed in earnest, with Mr Patel and FBI deputy director Dan Bongino reportedly admonishing agents during a conference call on Thursday.
Mr Kirk’s death has prompted widespread condemnation from across the political spectrum and renewed debate over the growing threat of political violence in the United States.
