Tyler Robinson, the alleged assassin of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, asked for a "gentle" surrender when he agreed to turn himself in following the murder he allegedly committed last week, Washington County Sheriff Nate Brooksby said in a news conference yesterday (Wednesday).
Brooksby said that he received a call from a colleague about Robinson at about 8 pm last Thursday, the day after the killing.
“Tyler knew it was just inevitable with all the law enforcement pressure that he, his picture in the news, the gun, the gun on the news,” he said. “He knew it was inevitable that he would be caught.”
According to Brooksby, Robinson knew that he could not evade capture after images of his face were publicized and after authorites seized the rifle used in the assassination, and feared that he would face a SWAT raid or be shot by police.
He described the phone call he recieved from his colleague: “I could tell his voice was kind of shaky, so my first thought is, ‘Who died?’ Like, who’s he gonna tell me that died?’ And then I couldn’t fathom what actually came out of his mouth."
“So he said, ‘Hey, I know who Charlie Kirk’s shooter is. I know the family through religious association, and he’s in Washington County now. And we’re working to get him to come in voluntarily,'” Brooksby said.
“During that phone call, some information was provided about Tyler potentially having some suicidal ideation [and] was en route to a remote part of Washington County. The parents convinced him not to do that and conveyed that they would stand by him and help him surrender peacefully.”
The alleged shooter agreed to turn himself in if the surrender was carried out in a “peaceful, gentle” manner, a condition Brooksby said he agreed to.
Charlie Kirk was fatally shot in the neck during an event at Utah Valley University on September 10. Robinson was arrested on suspicion of committing the murder two days later.
On Tuesday, Robinson was formally indicted on charges of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm, obstruction of justice, two counts of witness tampering, and commission of violence in the presence of a child.