Charlie Kirk’s shooter is in custody, according to President Donald Trump.
“I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him in custody,” Trump told “Fox & Friends” on Friday. “Everyone did a great job. We worked with the local police, the governor, everybody did a great job getting somebody that you start off with absolutely nothing.”
The president’s update was corroborated by local law enforcement, who told The New York Times that the suspect was apprehended at 10 p.m. local time Thursday night after Wednesday’s assassination at Utah Valley University.
Trump then explained that he only learned of the news five minutes before joining the Fox News program, noting that his details were subject to change once authorities give their official update: “But essentially, somebody that was very close to him turned him in. And that happens when you had some of those good shots. Somebody is going to say, whether it’s a parent or whatever. I’d rather not say right now.”
“Somebody close to him turned him. They said, ‘Whoa.’ It’s interesting. We had very good pictures, but not great, not perfect. And when you look at it, what happened is somebody — and this happens a lot, it happened with the crazy Boston bomber. It happened with others — somebody this close recognizes even a little tilt of the head, which nobody else would do, and somebody that was very close to him said, ‘Hmm, that’s him,’” Trump continued. “Essentially, went to the father, went to a U.S. Marshal, who was fantastic, by the way, and the person was involved with law enforcement but was a person of faith, a minister, and brought him to a U.S. Marshal who was fantastic, and the father convinced the son, this is it.”
“Subject to change. But you know, the facts are the facts, we have the person that we think is the person we’re looking for,” he added. “They drove into the police headquarters, and he’s there now.”
The president further stated he hopes the shooter is found guilty and, ultimately, receives the death penalty. “Charlie Kirk was the finest person. He didn’t deserve this,” Trump concluded.
Kirk was shot on Wednesday while speaking at his American Comeback Tour stop at UVU in Orem, Utah. He was transported to a local hospital, where he later died from his injuries. He was 31.
