By Andrew Hay and Jarrett Renshaw
OREM, Utah (Reuters) – A young Utah man suspected of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a university in the city of Orem was in custody on Friday, Utah Governor Spencer Cox told reporters.
“We got him,” Cox told reporters.
The suspect, identified as Tyler Robinson, had confessed to a family friend – or “implied that he had committed the murder” to that friend – and that person in turn had contacted the Washington County sheriff’s office on Thursday.
A family member interviewed by investigators said Robinson had become more political recently and spoke in a disparaging manner about Kirk, Cox told reporters.
Kirk’s killer had eluded police and federal agents for about 33 hours after Wednesday’s shooting, in which a sniper fired a single gunshot that killed Kirk, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, during an appearance at Utah Valley University.
Previously, U.S. investigators said they had found the bolt-action rifle believed to have been used to kill Kirk and released images of a person of interest.
Kirk, an author, podcast host and close ally of Trump, helped build the Republican Party’s support among younger voters.
Kirk was the co-founder and president of the conservative student group Turning Point USA and appeared at Utah Valley on Wednesday as part of a planned 15-event “American Comeback Tour” of U.S. college campuses. His killing stirred outrage and denunciations of political violence from Democrats, Republicans and foreign governments.
(Reporting by Andrew Hay in Orem, Jarret Renshaw in New York; Additional reporting by Sarah N Lynch and Jana Winter; Writing by Daniel Trotta and Jonathan Allen; Editing by Frank McGurty and Lincoln Feast)
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.