Mr Gray also gave more detail about how the defendant’s parents became suspicious that their son may have been involved in Charlie Kirk’s killing.
He said the mother had seen a video of the suspect released a day after the shooting and told her husband it looked like their son. She confronted the son over the phone about the resemblance, Mr Gray said, but he told her he had been home sick on the day of the shooting.
The father later confronted the defendant, who responded by implying he might take his own life, the prosecutor said.
The suspect was eventually persuaded to come to his parents’ house and while there, allegedly hinted he was the attacker. He then said he wanted to “end it” rather than go to jail, Mr Gray said.
With the help of a family friend, who is a retired deputy sheriff, his parents convinced him to surrender to police and he was arrested late on Thursday – 33 hours after the shooting.
The suspect also allegedly told his parents that “there is too much evil and the guy spreads too much hate”, in a reference to Kirk, according to the indictment.
The mother told investigators her son had become more political in recent years, Mr Gray said, becoming more supportive of gay and transgender rights and entering a relationship with a transgender person.
But the prosecutor declined to answer when asked if Kirk had been targeted for his transgender views. “That is for a jury to decide,” he said.
Mr Gray said the conservative influencer was answering a question about mass shootings carried out by transgender individuals when the gunshot rang out. The bullet struck Kirk in the neck and he immediately slumped to the ground.
The shot passed close to other people, including children and the person who asked Kirk the question, said the prosecutor.