Tyler Robinson, the Utah man charged with killing with Charlie Kirk, was afraid of being shot by police and agreed to surrender as long as it was done peacefully, a sheriff involved with taking him into custody said Wednesday.
Robinson appeared quiet and somber when he turned himself in with his parents last Thursday at the Washington County Sheriff’s office, a day after Kirk was shot and killed at Utah Valley University, said Sheriff Nate Brooksby.
On Tuesday, prosecutors charged 22-year-old Robinson with capital murder and announced they will seek the death penalty while revealing a series of incriminating messages and DNA evidence that they say connect Robinson to the killing of Kirk, a prominent conservative activist and confidant of President Donald Trump.
Investigators say that sometime after Robinson fired a single fatal shot from the rooftop of a campus building overlooking where Kirk was speaking on Sept. 10, he texted his romantic partner and said to look under a keyboard.
There was a note, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and I’m going to take it,” according to court documents.
After expressing shock, his partner who lived with Robinson in southwestern Utah, asked Robinson if he was the shooter. Robinson responded, "I am, I'm sorry."
Utah County Attorney Jeff Gray said DNA on the trigger of the rifle used to kill Kirk matched Robinson, who faced his first hearing in the case Tuesday. A judge read the charges and said he would appoint an attorney to represent him. A message was left Wednesday with the county's public defender office.
Robinson’s family has declined to comment to The Associated Press since his arrest.
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