“He didn’t want a big SWAT team at his parent’s house or his apartment,” Sheriff Nate Brooksby said, adding the suspect “was truly fearful about being shot by law enforcement.”
Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old arrested in the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, agreed to surrender only after insisting it be done peacefully because he feared being shot by police, Washington County Sheriff Nate Brooksby said Wednesday.
Robinson arrived at the sheriff’s office last Thursday with his parents and appeared “quiet and somber,” Brooksby said. “He didn’t want a big SWAT team at his parent’s house or his apartment,” the sheriff added. “He was truly fearful about being shot by law enforcement.”
Prosecutors charged Robinson on Tuesday with capital murder and said they will seek the death penalty, revealing DNA evidence linking him to the rifle and messages investigators say connect him to the slaying. Court filings cite a note found after the shooting in which Robinson allegedly wrote: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it,” and a text to his partner confirming, “I am, I’m sorry.”
Robinson made his first court appearance Tuesday, where a judge ordered a public defender be appointed. His family has declined to comment.
The Sept. 10 shooting at Utah Valley University left the campus reeling; students returned to classes under heavy security, with care stations and counseling available. Authorities are probing whether others knew of Robinson’s plans or assisted him; investigators praised Robinson’s partner for sharing texts and other materials but have not said whether the partner is a suspect.