Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old Utah local who has been taken into custody for allegedly shooting right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, was a “smart”, "quiet" person who mostly kept to himself, according to people who have known him.
22-year-old Robinson was taken into custody on Thursday night for allegedly assassinating right-wing influencer Charlie Kirk, 31, during an event at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
After the FBI released multiple pictures of the suspect and sought public help to get to him, it was Robinson’s father who recognised him and asked him to turn himself in, CNN reported citing a law enforcement official.
Also read: 'Tyler, is this you?': How a father's question revealed Charlie Kirk's shooting suspect
“Tyler, is this you? This looks like you,” Robinson’s father asked him, according to the official cited in the report. Robinson acknowledged to his father and it was indeed him but said that he’d rather kill himself than turn himself in, after which, the father got him to talk to a youth pastor and he gave in, the source told CNN.
‘Smart, quiet, goofy, shy’
A neighbor of Tyler Robinson and a school employee, Kristen Schwerman, told KSL news Utah, that he went to the school she was a head custodian at. “I was at that school for 18 years. I know all three of his brothers also,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}A neighbor of Tyler Robinson and a school employee, Kristen Schwerman, told KSL news Utah, that he went to the school she was a head custodian at. “I was at that school for 18 years. I know all three of his brothers also,” she said.
{{/usCountry}}When asked if this was consistent with who Kristen has known Robinson to be, she said, “No” and shook her head. “Kid was smart, quiet, he never caused any problems. It was a shock.”
“What I know about Tyler is he was always very quiet. He was very smart. He had just a real mellow personality, never caused any problems. He was smart and he kept to himself. I don’t know who his friends were as of now,” she added.
Also read: Charlie Kirk's killing: Accused Tyler Robinson to be formally charged next week
Describing the moment she found out that Robinson was the suspect for Kirk’s assassination, she said “My son texted me, “Hey, this is Tyler Robinson who lives three doors down”. And I was like, “No, it can’t be” and it was.”
A person who worked with Robinson briefly told CNN on condition of anonymity that he was a shy person and “wasn’t talkative unless he was spoken to.” He also said that Robinson would not really have any political discussions “unless someone brought it up.” He, however, added that Robinson “wasn’t too fond of Trump or Charlie (Kirk).”
According to one of Robinson’s older classmates, his political leaning was conservative like his family during his school years. “When I knew him and his family, they were like diehard Trump…When this happened, I was like… I don’t know what changed,” the classmate told CNN.
He also said that Robinson was “very, very big into gaming” and he and his friends “would spend their lunches playing the card games and all that kind of stuff.”
He also described Robinson as “quiet” and “a little goofy”. “He was fun to be around, fun to talk to. He just was kind of shy and didn’t open up very often,” the classmate said.