(NewsNation) — The suspect in the fatal shooting of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk on a Utah college campus appears to have confessed to friends in an online chat before being turned over to police by his family, according to The Washington Post.
The Post cited two people “familiar with the chat” as well as screenshots obtained by the newspaper.
“Hey guys, I have bad news for you all,” said a message from an account purportedly belonging to Tyler Robinson on instant messaging platform Discord. “It was me at UVU yesterday. im sorry for all of this.”
Charlie Kirk’s accused killer to be federally charged: DOJ source
Robinson, 22, of Washington, Utah, was arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily harm and obstruction of justice, all felonies, according to a probable cause statement filed in court and released Friday. A judge ordered that he be held without bail.
Robinson mentioned Kirk’s upcoming visit to Utah Valley University — located about 3 1/2 hours from the family’s southern Utah home — at a recent dinner, kicking off a conversation about how he didn’t like Kirk’s viewpoints, family told authorities. A full picture of his political leanings is still emerging. Utah state records show he is registered to vote but that he is not affiliated with a political party and is listed as inactive, meaning he didn’t vote in the two most recent general elections.
State and federal court records do not show any prior criminal cases involving him.
Robinson has two younger brothers, and his parents have been married for about 25 years, according to social media posts. Posts by Robinson’s mother reflect an active family with vacations to Disneyland, Hawaii, the Caribbean and Alaska. They frequently spent time outdoors — boating, fishing, riding ATVs, zip-lining and target shooting. A 2017 post shows the family visiting a military facility and posing with assault rifles. A young Robinson is shown smiling as he grips the handles of a 50-caliber heavy machine gun.
