Charlie Kirk shooting suspect arrested

Mangalore Today News Network

US, Sep 13, 2025: U.S. authorities said on Friday (September 12, 2025) they had captured the man accused of killing prominent right-wing activist Charlie Kirk after a family member helped to turn him in after a frantic manhunt.

“We got him,” Utah Governor Spencer Cox told a press conference.

Mr. Cox identified the suspect as Tyler Robinson and said the arrest was made after one of Mr. Robinson’s relatives contacted a friend, who then contacted the police.

The arrest raised a bitterly divided country’s hopes of finding answers to the shocking political murder on Wednesday (September 10, 2025).

The 31-year-old was killed after being hit by a single bullet in his neck while addressing a large crowd at Utah Valley University.

Kirk was an electrifying presence on the U.S. far-right, with a talent for debate and a huge following that helped U.S. President Donald Trump build the youth vote in his election victory in November 2024.

From the moment of the shooting, Mr. Trump has treated the event as a matter of top national importance.

Mr. Trump first announced that Kirk had died from his wound, and on Friday (September 12, 2025) it was Mr. Trump again who took to Fox News — ahead of the press conference by law enforcement — to say that the main suspect was in custody.

The Republican President has ordered flags at half-mast and said he will attend Kirk’s funeral.

Breakthrough in manhunt

Authorities quickly found the alleged murder weapon, a high-powered hunting rifle, and released photos of a young man dressed in a baseball cap and casual clothing.

However, after detaining, then releasing, two people who turned out to be unconnected to the case, the police and FBI appeared to struggle.

Late on Thursday (September 11, 2025), officials in Orem released more details about the suspect’s clothing and initial movements after the shooting, pleading with the public to help identify him.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the arrest was finally made at 10 p.m. local time Thursday (September 11, 2025) — 33 hours after the shooting.

Mr. Cox credited assistance from the alleged killer’s own family.

“On the evening of September 11th, a family member of Tyler Robinson reached out to a family friend, who contacted the Washington County sheriff’s office with information that Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident,” he said. 

Seeking death penalty

Mr. Cox said his state would pursue the death penalty against the suspect.

Mr. Trump said he would back such a move. “I hope he gets the death penalty,” he told Fox News.

Reflecting the highly political nature of the killing, Kirk’s coffin was transported to his home city of Phoenix on Vice-President J.D. Vance’s official plane.

Footage showed Mr. Vance with his hands on the casket as it was carried to Air Force 2.

Kirk, whom supporters have hailed as a “martyr,” co-founded Turning Point USA in 2012 to drive conservative viewpoints among young people, with his natural showmanship making him a go-to spokesman on television networks.

The father-of-two used his audiences on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube to build support for anti-immigration policies, outspoken Christianity and gun ownership, and to spread carefully edited clips of his interactions during debates at his many college events.