US President Donald Trump on Friday confirmed that authorities have detained a suspect in connection with the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, ending a nationwide search.
“I believe we’ve got him,” Trump said during an interview with Fox News, adding that the individual was turned in to police by his own father. He described the incident as a “brutal assassination.”
According to a report in the New York Post, the suspect has been identified as Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old resident of Utah. Trump also announced that he would personally attend Kirk’s funeral.
Kirk, 30, co-founder of the conservative student group Turning Point USA, was killed on Wednesday while speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem. A sniper shot him in the neck with a single round as he was responding to a question on gun violence in front of an audience of about 3,000 people, sparking chaos as attendees scrambled for safety.
Investigators say the shooter arrived shortly before the program, climbed stairwells to a rooftop, fired the fatal shot, and then leapt down before escaping into a nearby neighborhood. A high-powered bolt-action rifle was later found in a wooded area alongside palm prints and footprints.
Earlier, officials had released blurry surveillance footage of a man described as a “person of interest,” wearing a black shirt with an eagle-and-flag emblem, dark sunglasses, and a baseball cap. Authorities said the suspect, who appeared college-aged, had blended easily into the campus crowd.
Kirk’s body was flown from Utah to Phoenix, Arizona, where funeral services are being organized. On Thursday, Vice President JD Vance acted as a pallbearer, carrying the casket across the tarmac to Air Force Two.
The killing drew sharp condemnation across the political spectrum, with both Republicans and Democrats denouncing the attack. Leaders from several foreign governments also expressed outrage.
President Trump announced that Kirk would be honored posthumously with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.
Kirk, a prominent supporter of Trump and a vocal advocate for gun rights, is survived by his wife and two young children.
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