The suspect in the shooting of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk is in police custody after his father turned him in to authorities.

Kirk was fatally shot in the neck Wednesday afternoon while speaking at a TPUSA outdoor event at Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem.

Tyler Robinson, 22, who was not a student at the university, reportedly confessed to his father that he was the shooter.

According to the Daily Mail, he  had “told his father that he would rather kill himself than turn himself in, but was convinced to speak with a local youth minister who also worked with the US Marshals Service.”

Both parents are reportedly Republicans.

Robinson faces charges of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury and obstruction of justice, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Authorities stated at a press conference Thursday night that the suspect would face the death penalty if convicted.

During a press conference Friday morning, Utah governor Spencer Cox said a family member told investigators that Tyler had become “more political” in recent years.

“The family member referenced an incident in which Robinson came to dinner prior to September 10, and in the conversation with another family member Robinson mentioned that Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU. They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had. The family member also said that Kirk was ‘full of hate and spreading hate.'”
It wasn’t immediately clear which family member said Kirk was “full of hate,” the one being interviewed, or the one who was speaking with Tyler.

Cox said investigators interviewed Robinson’s roommate, who showed them messages the suspect had posted on Discord about his rifle, including a comment saying that he “needed to retrieve a rifle from a drop point.”

“The messages also refer to engraving bullets and a mention of a scope and the rifle being unique.

The .30-06 caliber bolt action Mauser rifle was found wrapped in a dark colored towel in a wooded area near the campus. Cox said the rifle had a scope mounted on it.

“The messages also mentioned that he had changed outfits,” the governor said.

Cox went on to read for reporters the strange messages that were engraved on the casings found with the rifle.

Inscriptions on fired casings read “notices bulges OWO what’s this?”

Inscriptions on the three unfired casings read “hey fascist! catch!,” along with an up arrow symbol, a right arrow symbol and three down arrow symbols, “Oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao,” and “if you read this you are gay lmao.”

“Oh Bella Ciao” is an Italian song that has been popularized by leftists worldwide as a song of resistance against perceived injustice and oppression.

Cox described the shooting as a “political assassination and a “watershed moment” in American history, adding “the question is, what kind of watershed?”