Tyler Robinson, the man who’s accused of fatally shooting Charlie Kirk, has been linked to the crime scene through a DNA match, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.
Robinson, 22, was arrested following the shooting on September 10 at Utah Valley University, and he’s expected to be charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury and obstruction of justice, according to NBC News.
Patel explained on the Monday, September 15, episode of Fox & Friends that the FBI found DNA matching Robinson on a towel that was allegedly wrapped around a firearm, which was discarded in a wooded area near the campus in Orem, Utah. Patel said the DNA was also found on a screwdriver discovered on a rooftop.
He went on to explain that he and other FBI agents “walked the entire crime scene” after he arrived in Utah and found the evidence.
“I can report today that the DNA hits from the towel that was wrapped around the firearm and the DNA on the screwdriver are positively processed for the suspect in custody,” Patel said.
Patel noted that only the towel wrapped around the firearm has been processed at this time, while the gun is being analyzed by experts at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in Maryland.
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Additionally, he said he believes Kirk’s murder was premeditated and based on Robinson’s political beliefs, which opposed Kirk’s conservative values. Prior to the interview, a company spokesperson for Discord confirmed to CBS News that Robinson appeared to admit to shooting Kirk in a message to friends on the chat platform.
“Hey guys, I have bad news for you all,” a message from an account that allegedly belonged to Robinson read, according to the spokesperson. “It was me at UVU yesterday. im sorry for all of this.”
“His family has collectively told investigators that he subscribed to left-wing ideology, and even more so in these last couple of years, and he had a text message exchange — he, the suspect, with another individual — in which he claimed that he had an opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and he was going to do it because of his hatred for what Charlie stood for,” Patel said on Fox & Friends.
Kirk died at the age of 31 while sitting at his signature “Prove Me Wrong” table set up at the college, which was part of his American Comeback Tour.
Before his death was revealed, Utah Valley University police confirmed that shots were fired while Kirk was speaking to the crowd.
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“What we know currently is that Charlie Kirk was about 20 minutes into his presentation when we heard shots fired from a nearby building and to the best of our knowledge he was hit and taken with his security team away from the premises, and the courtyard was cleared,” a UVU spokeswoman told CNBC at the time.
Police took one person into custody as a suspect after the shooting, though they were ultimately released and charged with obstruction by UVU police. The Utah Department of Public Safety (DPS) said in a news release that a second suspect was also taken into custody, though they were released following an interrogation with law enforcement.
