Charlie Kirk shooter caught? Trump says somebody 'close to him' turned him in

The breakthrough comes two days after Charlie Kirk was assassinated while attending an event at the Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

Updated on: Sep 12, 2025, 18:32:20 IST

By HT News Desk

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United States President Donald Trump said on Friday “with a high degree of certainty” that the suspect who shot and killed right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk on Wednesday is in custody and he was turned in by someone “very close” to him.

United States President Donald Trump with his ally and right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk. (File/AP)

“I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him in custody,” Trump said.

“I don't want to go too far…but essentially somebody very close to him turned him in,” he added.

He made the revelation during an interview with Fox News.

This comes two days after Kirk was assassinated while attending an event at the Utah Valley University on Wednesday.

The suspect has been identified as 22-year-old Utah man Tyler Robinson, the New York Post reported citing law enforcement sources.

Also read: Suspect in Charlie Kirk’s assassination in custody, says Donald Trump

While referring to the pictures of the suspect released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Thursday and how the suspect was identified and caught, Trump said, “We had very good pictures but not great, not perfect, and when you look at it…this happens a lot, it happened with the crazy Boston bomber, it happened with others…somebody close recognises even a little tilt of the head which no body else would do and somebody very close to him said - that's him”.

The US President added, quite vaguely, that the person who gave a lead about the suspect was a "person involved with law enforcement, but was a person of faith. A minister.” He also said that the father of the person who has been taken into custody also cooperated with authorities.

However, Trump said that he was “subject to correction” and was only “giving you based on what I’m hearing" as he had received brief information about the matter just before the interview with Fox News.

The big breakthrough in the investigation comes after the authorities, who had sought public help to identify the shooter, received over 7,000 leads and tips, according to an Associated Press report. The FBI had released pictures and videos of the suspect on Thursday, which showed him wearing a baseball cap and what seems like a black sweatshirt, with an American flag with an eagle on it. The video released by the FBi shows the suspect running on a rooftop before jumping from it and escaping.

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HT News Desk
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