Questions linger in Charlie Kirk murder: ‘We always want to know why’
As the investigation into assassination of conservative leader Charlie Kirk continues, some pertinent questions linger about planning, motive and if anyone else was aware about the suspect’s plans others.
Kirk’s murder at a rally in Utah on September 10 has kicked up a political storm as the suspect is said to have “leftist” ideology(X/@TulsiGabbard)
The suspect, identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, is in police custody and appeared via video feed from jail last Tuesday as he faces charges of capital murder. However, the charging documents reportedly show some gaps in the investigations.
Charlie Kirk’s murder at a rally in Utah on September 10 has kicked up a political storm as the suspect is said to have “leftist” ideology after which President Donald Trump and other administration officials have threatened a crackdown on the “radical left”. The probe, however, hasn’t, indicated Robinson’s link to any outside group.
‘We want to know why’
“I would certainly, and I’m sure the public would, like to know a lot more about exactly what motivated him,” Reuters quoted Kenneth Gray, a retired FBI special agent and professor of practice at the University of New Haven, as saying.
Kirk was shot dead by a sniper on September 10 while he interacting with students at a university in Utah. He was answering a question on gun violence when he was shot. Robinson has been charged with killing Kirk and faces the death penalty if convicted of the most serious charges.
Texts to his roommate, whom officials have said was also a romantic partner, and other friends on online messaging platforms are being seen as evidence against Robinson. But prosecutors have offered little detail about his preparations.
The text to his roommate, Robinson had allegedly said he killed “I had enough of his hatred.”
“We always want to know why,” Reuters quoted Felipe Rodriguez, a former New York police detective and an adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice at City University New York as saying. “Police need it to help establish the case, and prosecutors need it as that one last piece of the puzzle to present to a jury.”
Utah governor also said that Robinson was influenced by leftist ideology, while Robinson’s mother also told investigators that his political views had moved left recently and he had become “more pro-gay and trans-rights oriented,” prosecutors said. As per investigators, Robinson’s roommate was “transitioning genders.”
Kirk was the co-founder of Turning Point USA, the country’s leading conservative youth group. It held views that are known to be racist, anti-immigrant, transphobic and misogynistic.
The precision of the assassination has indicated that Robinson had done a careful recce of the area. According to court documents, Robinson arrived on campus around 8:30 am and re-entered the campus hours later where was seen going to the rooftop from where he fired the shot at Kirk, who was seated about 160 yards away.
His lack of hesitation indicated he had conducted some reconnaissance before climbing to the roof, Gray said, adding that he knew where would be a good position and not just “pick one on the fly.”
Rodriguez also said that it is clear that Robinson had conducted reconnaissance before the shooting.
“How else did he know there were no alarms on the building, on the door to the roof?” he said. “How did he know he could make the shot?”
Robinson reportedly shot at Kirk using a bolt-action rifle with a scope that belonged to his grandfather.
Bolt-action rifles are commonly used by hunters, target shooters and military snipers. Hunting is popular in Utah, where more than 280,000 annual hunting licenses were reportedly issued last year, or about one for every 10 residents.
