A major break in the hunt for a suspect in Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting came Thursday, after the FBI released photos of a man caught on surveillance video and asked for the public’s help in identifying him.
Tyler Robinson’s father recognized the young man as his son, a law enforcement official told CNN. When Robinson was confronted by his father, he confessed, another source said.
On Thursday evening, “a family member of Tyler Robinson reached out to a family friend,” who contacted authorities, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said.
Robinson was taken into custody around 10 p.m. local time Thursday, FBI Director Kash Patel said.
“His family and a friend helped to deliver him into custody of law enforcement in Washington County,” Cox said.
Other clues pointed to Robinson as the suspect, the governor said, such as his clothes and a car spotted Wednesday morning near the scene of the shooting.
Investigators also spoke with one of the suspect’s relatives, who said Robinson “had become more political in recent years,” the governor said.
“The family member referenced a recent incident in which Robinson came to dinner prior to September 10, and … Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU,” Cox said.
The dinner conversation included Robinson saying he didn’t like Kirk’s viewpoints, his relative told investigators, according to Cox. “The family member also confirmed Robinson had a gray Dodge Challenger” – the type of car seen in the surveillance footage at UVU.
Authorities also interviewed Robinson’s roommate, who showed investigators comments attributed to Robinson on Discord, the governor said.
They included “messages affiliated with the contact ‘Tyler’ stating a need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush” and leaving “the rifle wrapped in a towel,” Cox said.
CNN’s Hannah Rabinowitz and Holmes Lybrand contributed to this report.