A “minister” played a role in reporting Charlie Kirk’s accused assassin, according to President Donald Trump.
Kirk, the Christian nationalist founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot Sept. 10 while leading an “American Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University near Provo.
The president made the announcement a suspect was in custody during a Sept. 12 interview on Fox and Friends. That bit of information later was confirmed by law enforcement officials. The suspect is 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who was raised in a conservative Mormon home in Utah.
Tyler Robinson (Photo: Utah Governor’s Office)
Some media reports erroneously identified his father as a member of local law enforcement, but that turned out not to be true. Robinson is the oldest of three brothers. His father owns a business installing kitchen countertops and cabinets, and his mother is a licensed social worker. They all are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Tyler Robinson is a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College. He attended Utah State University for one semester in 2021.
Robinson’s father reportedly recognized his son in the images of the suspected shooter released by the FBI. He confronted his son, who admitted to being the shooter, according to Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who said the father urged his son to turn himself in.
“Robinson responded to his father, saying he would rather die by suicide than turn himself in, prompting his father to call a youth pastor close to the family, sources told media outlets, including CBS News. “The pastor and Robinson’s father tried to calm him.”
The LDS church has no professional clergy, only volunteers. It is not clergy whether the “youth pastor” involved in convincing Robinson to surrender to police is a leader in the LDS church or some other church.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.