A police officer reportedly encountered Tyler Robinson, the alleged assassin of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, and prevented him from retrieving the firearm allegedly used in the assassination, Fox News first reported.
Robinson reportedly “made contact” with the officer roughly six hours after a bullet fatally struck Kirk in the neck while he held an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, according to Fox News. The officer was guarding the perimeter after the campus had been placed on lockdown and the encounter reportedly prevented Robinson from recovering his Mauser .30-06 rifle that law enforcement later recovered, wrapped in a towel in a wooded area.
Prosecutors said that text messages between Robinson and his transgender boyfriend, Lance Twiggs, showed the alleged shooter’s intention to find his firearm, Fox News reported. As law enforcement searched the area, Robinson told Twigs to look under his keyboard, which reportedly directed him to a handwritten note that read, “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I’m going to take it.”
Robinson said he was still in Orem, Utah, to retrieve his firearm, Fox News reported. He then apologized to Twiggs for involving him in the assassination.
“I had planned to grab my rifle from my drop point shortly after, but most of that side of town got locked down. It’s (sic) quiet, almost enough to get out, but theres (sic) one vehicle lingering,” Robinson reportedly wrote to Twiggs over text.
Later on in the conversation, Robinson indicated that he was in the area and had spotted a squad car near where he dropped the rifle, Fox News reported.
“I’m wishing I had circled back and grabbed it as soon as I got to my vehicle… I’m worried what my old man would do if I didn’t bring back grandpas (sic) rifle,” Robinson allegedly wrote.
After a two-day manhunt, Robinson’s parents later recognized their son in surveillance camera photographs released by federal investigators and confronted him about the assassination, Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said at a Sept. 12 press conference. The alleged assassin confessed to the murder and threatened to commit suicide rather than turn himself in, prompting his father to contact a youth pastor who had previously been a law enforcement official. That former law enforcement official then contacted Washington County Sheriff Nate Brooksby.
Brooksby said during a Sept. 18 press conference that law enforcement promised a “peaceful” surrender as a condition for Robinson turning himself in. Robinson then agreed and arrived at his office with his parents and the youth pastor.
Robinson had also been fixated with pornographic “furry” video games and followed artists producing underage-themed cartoons. He added the “furry” symbol, “NoTices Bulge OWO What’s This?” on one of the bullet casings discovered by law enforcement.
The alleged shooter is charged with one count of aggravated murder, one count of felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury, two counts of obstruction of justice for hiding the rifle and discarding his clothing, two counts of witness tampering for instructing a roommate to delete texts, and one count of committing a violent offense in front of children.
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