Charlie Kirk murder suspect Tyler Robinson, raised Mormon, told family he’d ‘rather kill himself than surrender’

Tyler Robinson’s background

Robinson lived with his parents in Washington, Utah, a town of about 28,000 surrounded by red and beige hills. Neighbours told Reuters the 22-year-old’s family were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church). They described the Robinsons as a good family and said they were stunned by the events. One resident said they moved to the area because it was conservative and religious, and couldn’t believe something like this happened there.

Robinson briefly attended Utah State University for one semester before dropping out, later enrolling in an electrical apprenticeship at Dixie Technical College. He was a registered voter with no party affiliation and had no prior criminal record. 

His arrest affidavit describes how he had recently become more political. At a family dinner before the shooting, Robinson reportedly spoke about disliking Kirk, calling him “full of hate and spreading hate.”

Robinson’s Discord account

The chat app Discord confirmed Robinson had an account on the platform, but said there was no evidence he planned or was involved in any kind of violence there. Messages that appeared in news reports actually came from a conversation between Robinson’s roommate and a friend after the attack, where the roommate was repeating what Robinson had left in a note elsewhere.

Robinson has been arrested and is sitting in jail without bail. He isn’t talking to investigators. Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray is expected to file formal charges on Tuesday, and Robinson will make his first court appearance the same day.

Charlie Kirk’s wife, Erika, to make first public address

Erika Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s wife, is set to give her first public speech since her husband’s death. She will speak at 8:15 p.m. ET, Turning Point USA said.

“There is one person responsible for what happened here, and that person is in custody, will be charged soon, and will be held accountable,” Utah Governor Spencer Cox said at a late-night news conference Friday. “And yet, all of us have an opportunity right now to do something different.”

“We can always point the finger at the other side,” Cox added. “At some point, we have to find an off-ramp, or it’s going to get much, much worse.”

(With Inputs from CNN, Reuters)