How mother of Charlie Kirk’s accused killer recognized her son and helped convince him to surrender

When she first saw photos U.S. law enforcement released of Charlie Kirk’s suspected shooter the day after his killing on a Utah Valley University (UVU) quad on Sept. 10, Tyler Robinson’s mother told police that she immediately thought the person resembled her son.

According to the charging documents released this week, when she called her 22-year-old son, the oldest of her three boys, he claimed to be at home sick for a second straight day.

Unsatisfied, she contacted her husband, who agreed that the pictured person resembled their firstborn.

“He also believed that the rifle that police suspected the shooter used matched a rifle that was given to his son as a gift,” the document reads.

After receiving no response to a request for a photo of the rifle, which investigators found in a wooded area near the campus, Robinson’s father called his son, who “implied that he planned to take his own life.”

His parents were able to convince him to come to their home in Washington, UT, not far from where he lives in St. George, which is about 400 kilometres from Orem, the site of the shooting.

“As they discussed the situation, Robinson implied that he was the shooter and stated that he couldn’t go to jail and just wanted to end it,” investigators wrote.

Asked about his motive, Robinson explained to his parents that “there is too much evil” and Kirk “spreads too much” of it.

Robinson’s parents persuaded him to speak with a family friend, a former deputy sheriff, and talked the young man into turning himself in to the police.

Robinson’s mother also told police that her son’s politics had started leaning “more to the left” over the past year — “becoming more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented” — and that he’d become romantically involved with his roommate, “a biological male who was transitioning genders.”

His shifting beliefs prompted debate with family, especially his father.

“In one conversation before the shooting, Robinson mentioned that Charlie Kirk would be holding an event at UVU, which Robinson said was a “stupid venue” for the event. Robinson accused Kirk of spreading hate.”

• Who is Tyler Robinson? What we know about the man who allegedly assassinated Charlie Kirk
• Full text: Tyler Robinson charging document reveals how parents convinced him to turn himself in

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