A government official has said the suspect believed to have fatally shot conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a university event in Utah is not cooperating with police.
On September 10, 31-year-old Kirk was speaking at Utah Valley University in Orem as part of his American Comeback tour.
After answering a question about mass shootings, he was hit with a single bullet, which is believed to have been shot from a nearby roof.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox has since named the suspected assailant as Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah native who is currently in custody.
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In a new interview, Cox, 50, has claimed the suspect allegedly comes from a ‘conservative family’ and that he is failing to cooperate with police investigating the assassination.
Instead, authorities are gleaning information from family members, the suspect's friends, and from the forensic team working on the case.
“He has not confessed to authorities. He is not cooperating, but all the people around him are cooperating,” he explained to ABC News' This Week co-anchor Martha Raddatz. “And I think that's very important.”
Cox - who has served as Utah’s governor since 2021 - claimed charges against the alleged shooter are expected to be formally filed on Tuesday.
More developments are expected to be brought to public attention in the coming days.
When asked whether officials knew the motive behind the attack, the Republican explained: “We’re all drawing lots of conclusions. How someone like this could be radicalized and I think that those are important questions for us to ask and important questions for us to answer.”
Cox also commented on a New York Times report that claimed the suspect had sent messages to other people on Discord after the shooting.
The outlet claimed that the alleged killer had ‘joked’ with others on the free chat platform that he was the one responsible for Kirk’s death.
“All we can confirm is that those conversations definitely were happening, and they did not believe it was actually him. It was, it was all joking until, until he, you know, until he admitted that it actually was him,” he explained.
Elsewhere in the interview, the politician blamed social media, claiming it’d made people ‘addicted to outrage’.
“The conflict entrepreneurs are taking advantage of us and we are losing our agency. We have to take that back.”
A plethora of political faces have come forward to condemn the killing of Kirk, including former US President Barack Obama.
The Democrat wrote on social media that he and his wife, Michelle Obama, were ‘praying’ for the Turning Point USA founder’s family, including his widow, Erika, and their two young children.
Celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger, Amber Rose, and Ryan Garcia have paid their respects online.
“God bless Charlie Kirk. A true PATRIOT,” wrote musician Kid Rock. “Pray for him. Kid Rock.”
Meanwhile, Jake Paul alleged that Kirk ‘got shot for telling the truth’.
“What a mentally sick time we are living through. We need god more than ever. Praying for Charlie’s family and praying for these evil people to heal,” he added.
Police have confirmed the investigation into Kirk’s murder is still ongoing.
Topics: Charlie Kirk, Politics, Republicans, US News, Utah, Gun Crime, Crime, Social Media
Ella Scott