Earlier, US President Donald Trump said the suspect's father helped to turn his son in after the FBI released pictures and CCTV footage of Robinson, who was yet to be identified, declaring him a "person of interest".
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The suspect apprehended over the shooting of conservative influencer Charlie Kirk in Utah is a 22-year-old Tyler Robinson from Utah, law enforcement officials said on Friday.
US President Donald Trump first broke the news that law enforcement had a suspect in custody on Friday, in what appears to be a significant breakthrough in the investigation.
“Somebody that was very close to him said, ‘Hmm, that’s him,’” Trump said during his appearance on Fox television, adding that he found out about the arrest five minutes prior to joining the show.
A news conference in Utah, where the killing took place on a college campus on Wednesday, is under way.
Late on Thursday, the FBI and Utah police released a fresh video showing a person of interest fleeing the scene after the assassination of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk.
Tips from the public gave the authorities "our next leads" the Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said, as officials appealed for more information to help in the intense manhunt for the gunman that has been ongoing since Wednesday.
The newly released footage showed a person wearing sunglasses, Converse shoes and a long-sleeved black shirt with a US flag and eagle running across a roof before climbing off the edge of the building and dropping to the ground.
The suspect then crosses the busy street into a wooded area, where police said they uncovered a high-powered rifle they believe to be the weapon used to shoot Kirk.
On Thursday, the FBI shared two photos of a person of interest wearing the same clothing. Utah Public Safety has released additional pictures of the suspect wearing a backpack and climbing down a stairwell.
The suspect blended easily into the campus, Mason said, and "appeared to be of college age."
Mason admitted law enforcement had "no idea" if the person of interest was in the state of Utah or had fled the area. "We’re exploring leads for individuals out of state and individuals that live close by,” he said.
Officials said that, alongside a rifle, they have imprints of a forearm, a palm and a shoe as well as forensic evidence, including possible fingerprints and DNA collected from the edge of the building the gunman jumped down from.
Police have so far received more than 7,000 leads and tips — the largest number submitted since the Boston marathon bombing in 2013.
The FBI said Thursday it is offering a reward of up to $100,000 (€92,000) for information "leading to the identification and arrest of the individual(s) responsible for the murder of Charlie Kirk."
Utah's Governor Spencer Cox pledged prosecutors would seek the death penalty once the suspect was caught.
Kirk was shot in broad daylight as he answered a question about gun violence from a courtyard at Utah Valley University. The event was kicking off a planned series of college appearances dubbed “The American Comeback Tour".
His assassination has drawn widespread condemnation from Republican and Democratic lawmakers alike and renewed attention to the escalating threat of political violence in the US.
It has also sparked an outpouring of grief, including from US President Donald Trump, who said he was "concerned for our country" in the wake of the attack and pledged to find the shooter.