- cross-posted to:
- news@beehaw.org
- cross-posted to:
- news@beehaw.org
Kirk’s shooter, Tyler Robinson, has apparently turned himself in, apparently after confessing to his own father (?)
I’ve tried to capture the relevant bits of this extremely rapidly updating and currently in progress series of events.
9 a.m. EDT
While appearing on Fox and Friends, Trump said “I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him in custody.”
Trump said authorities acted after receiving a tip from a minister who recognized the suspect from the images released by law enforcement.
The president said he believed the suspect’s father was also involved in arrest, but added that this information was still preliminary and the details could change.
9:15 a.m. EDT
Trump said he would attend a funeral next week for Kirk, “who should not be having a funeral right now,” when asked about his scheduled trip to the U.K. from Sept. 16-18.
9:30 a.m. EDT
The suspect was identified as Tyler Robinson, 22, from Utah, according to multiple reports citing people with knowledge of the investigation.
10:10 a.m. EDT
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox confirmed in a press conference Friday morning that a suspect named Tyler Robinson has been detained.
Apologies for this being a paywalled Forbes article.
He could be antifa, or at least a radicalized nihilist with those sympathies. He did etch into his bullets a mix of furry memes and anti-fascist messaging.
Or maybe he did this as part of a dollar store false flag operation, because he is a far-right extremist. We just don’t have enough information to be certain, yet.
I will say that he certainly fits the profile of a right ring terrorist: young, white male, Christian, proficient marksman, terminally online, and the son of a long time police officer.
The anti-fascist messages were quotes from video games (Helldivers and Far Cry), so maybe he means it or maybe just more memes, hard to say.
He also quoted an old Italian anti-fascist song, Bella Ciao.
Whether he’s an anarchist, Marxist, or Nazi, it’s clear he was terminally online and steeped in meme culture.
Of course, that’s about as helpful these days as saying someone uses dating apps.
Bella Ciao was featured in Far Cry, which I am guessing is where he heard it. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t know it’s an anti-fascist song, though.