Inside the hunt for the suspect in Charlie Kirk’s killing

Authorities have shared their most detailed account yet of the investigation set off by the killing of American conservative activist Charlie Kirk, which concluded with a suspect surrendering to police.  Here are key details Utah County prosecutor Jeffrey Gray released about the case centering on 22-year-old suspect Tyler Robinson:- ‘Sniper positions’ -When a lone gunshot rang out during Kirk’s outdoor event on September 10, a Utah Valley University police officer believed the weapon to be a rifle “because of its sound,” Gray said, and began looking for “potential sniper positions.” About 160 yards (150 meters) away, the officer spotted a roof area “as a potential shooting position.”There, he found “impressions in the gravel” consistent with the body of a “person in a prone shooting position.”Security surveillance footage confirmed that an individual dressed in dark clothing was on the roof at approximately 12:15 pm local time, Gray said.That revelation marked the start of a 33-hour manhunt.- The attack -The apparent suspect entered campus at 11:51 am local time, wearing a black shirt with an American flag in the center, a dark baseball cap and large sunglasses, Gray said.His appearance gave few clues, but the suspect’s posture appeared to indicate that he was hiding something.”The suspect keeps his head down. He is seen walking with an unusual gait, with very little bending in his right leg, consistent with a rifle being hidden in his pants,” Gray said.Security cameras also caught the suspect descending from the roof immediately after the shooting and fleeing campus on foot.A rifle with a scope was found in the woods nearby, wrapped in a towel.”The rifle contained one spent round and three unspent rounds,” Gray said. The unspent rounds were engraved with enigmatic messages: “hey fascist catch” followed by arrow symbols believed to be a video game cheat code, the famed anti-fascist song “oh, Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Bella ciao, ciao, ciao” and “if you read this, you are gay, lmao.”Robinson’s DNA was discovered on the gun’s trigger, the shell casing, two cartridges and the towel, authorities said.That’s not all the evidence that identified him.- A parent knows -The next day, Tyler Robinson’s mother saw footage of the shooter on the news and thought he resembled her son.But when she called, “he said he was at home sick,” like he had been the day before, Gray said.Robinson’s father also recognized “that the rifle that police suspected the shooter used matched a rifle that was given to his son as a gift.”Robinson’s mother told investigators her son had recently “become more political and had started to lean more to the left” to embrace gay and trans rights, Gray said.”She stated that Robinson began to date his roommate, a biological male who was transitioning genders. This resulted in several discussions with family members, but especially between Robinson and his father, who have very different political views.”Robinson described his father as becoming “hardcore MAGA” since Trump returned to the White House, Gray said, referring to the president’s “Make America Great Again” movement.When his parents reached him by phone, Robinson hinted at being the shooter, saying he didn’t want to go to prison, and that he was ready to take his own life. Robinson’s parents worked to convince him to surrender.- A hidden note -After the shooting, Robinson exchanged messages with his roommate.”Drop what you’re doing. Look under my keyboard,” Robinson wrote.There, a note read: “I had the opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk, and I’m going to take it.”Excerpts of that conversation, per court documents:Roommate: “What you’re joking, right?”Robinson: “I am still okay, my love, but I’m stuck in Orem for a little while longer yet. Shouldn’t be long until I can come home, but I gotta grab my rifle still. To be honest, I had hoped to keep this secret till I died of old age. I am sorry to involve you.”Roommate: “You weren’t the one who did it, right?”Robinson: “I am, I am, I’m sorry.”Roommate: “Why?”Robinson: “Why did I do it? I had enough of his hatred. Some hate can’t be negotiated out. If I am able to grab my rifle unseen, I will have left no evidence.” Robinson told the roommate he’d been planning the shooting for a bit over a week before adding:”I’m worried what my old man would do if I didn’t bring back grandpa’s rifle. How the f will I explain losing it to my old man?” Robinson then adds later: “Delete this exchange…I’m going to turn myself in willingly.”Thirty-three hours after the shooting, Robinson did just that.

Guinea PM says new constitution would bring ‘dynamic of change’Wed, 17 Sep 2025 05:45:16 GMT

Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah believes voters in junta-led Guinea desire a “dynamic of change” which he says a new constitution being voted on Sunday would provide, but the opposition has called for a boycott of the referendum.Four years after a coup overthrew elected president Alpha Conde, Guinea’s 6.7 million voters are being asked whether …

Guinea PM says new constitution would bring ‘dynamic of change’Wed, 17 Sep 2025 05:45:16 GMT Read More »

Junta accused of coveting power in crucial Guinea referendumWed, 17 Sep 2025 05:41:54 GMT

Four years after the military seized power, Guineans will finally vote on a new draft constitution that would pave the way for elections but also permit the country’s junta leader to run for president, in a referendum boycotted by the opposition.The Sunday vote, which Guineans and the international community have been awaiting for years, opens …

Junta accused of coveting power in crucial Guinea referendumWed, 17 Sep 2025 05:41:54 GMT Read More »

Sri Lanka to ban predatory pet fish to protect ecosystems

Sri Lanka will ban four species of predatory ornamental fish including Piranhas that have escaped into rivers and lakes, devastating native species and threatening fragile freshwater ecosystems, the fisheries minister said Wednesday.”We want to protect our inland water bodies from invasive species,” Ramalingam Chandrasekar said, adding it was aimed at protecting the livelihoods of fishermen on the island nation.The import, sale and transportation of Redline Snakehead, Knife Fish, Alligator Gar and Piranha, imported from Southeast Asia, will be banned from Saturday, the minister said in a statement.Snakeheads, which can grow to over three feet (one metre), were rapidly multiplying in a lake in the northwestern part of the island, threatening the native species.Officials believe they may have been released into the Deduru Oya lake by owners who could no longer care for them.The fisheries ministry has organised a competition for anglers to catch Snakeheads, coinciding with the ban on Saturday.Sri Lankans are not used to consuming Snakehead fish which is a voracious predator, eating smaller native fish and amphibians and disrupting the ecological balance. Pet owners rearing the four species have been asked to notify the authorities and hand them over so the fish can be confined to state-run aquariums. 

Tabac, alcool, cannabis: les ados sont de moins en moins accro

Un seul shot en 12 jours, bu “par politesse”: le bilan des vacances à Malte entre amis de Martin, 18 ans, pour la fin du lycée, semble représentatif de la consommation de plus en plus d’adolescents français. Sans drogues, ni tabac, et presque sans alcool.Seuls 20% des Français de 16 ans déclaraient en 2024 avoir déjà consommé du tabac et 8,4% du cannabis, selon une étude européenne sur la consommation des jeunes, relayée début septembre par l’Observatoire français des drogues et des toxicomanies (OFDT).Par rapport à 2015, on trouve ainsi cinq fois moins de fumeurs quotidiens et trois fois moins de jeunes ayant expérimenté le cannabis, pointe l’étude.Si Martin n’a jamais touché à une cigarette, il a déjà “testé” l’alcool et le cannabis, à la fin du collège. “Les premières fois où tu consommes, c’est soit sous la pression sociale, soit pour faire le grand”, estime l’étudiant tout juste entré en première année de droit à Paris. Depuis le lycée, il prône cependant la sobriété, avec pour motifs sa foi chrétienne, sa pratique sportive ou encore tout simplement sa capacité à s’amuser avec ses amis sans recours à une substance psychoactive.Cela semble aller dans le sens d’une tendance générale, celle d'”une prise de conscience dans la société (…) des effets délétères de ces comportements”, juge Nicolas Prisse, président de la Mission interministérielle de lutte contre les drogues et les conduites addictives. Une vaste enquête menée en 2022 par l’OFDT sur 23.000 Français de 17 ans pointait déjà une tendance à la baisse de leur consommation de substances psychoactives, démontrant selon le médecin de santé publique que “la bataille de la dénormalisation” est en passe d’être gagnée.- “Super cher” -Au premier plan, le tabac: Charlotte, 16 ans, boit de temps en temps en soirée ou en boîte, mais pas question de “tomber” dans “la dépendance à la nicotine”. Sa mère, elle-même fumeuse, le lui a d’ailleurs interdit. “Elle y est tombée hyper jeune et maintenant, c’est vraiment une addiction”, déplore la lycéenne scolarisée en banlieue toulousaine, soulignant que “ça coûte super cher”. Et en effet, l’augmentation constante du prix, le paquet neutre, l’interdiction de vente aux mineurs, constituent un “arsenal de régulation” pouvant expliquer que la consommation de tabac ne soit “plus populaire chez les jeunes”, entraînant avec elle celle du cannabis, autre “produit à fumer”, selon M. Prisse. Une autre explication à cette évolution pourrait être la “dégradation de la santé mentale” observée chez les jeunes, entraînant un “repli sur soi”, à l’âge où la consommation est liée à une “conformité sociale du groupe”, selon le médecin.  Parmi les amis de Ruben, 17 ans, par exemple, on sort assez peu. Ce lycéen de Toulouse n’a jamais essayé ni tabac, ni cannabis, ni cigarette électronique, pour lesquels il n’a “pas tellement de curiosité”. En revanche, il se voit consommer de l’alcool “plus tard”, quand il aura “plus d’occasions d’en boire”.Car l’alcool reste central dans la socialisation des adolescents. Sept sur dix l’avaient déjà essayé en 2024, selon l’étude européenne relayée par l’OFDT, avec une fréquence notable d'”alcoolisations ponctuelles importantes” (binge drinking), soit au moins cinq verres d’alcool lors d’une même occasion. “Être bourrée, ça me fait un peu peur, parce que j’ai des copines qui ont déjà été pas très bien, au point de devoir appeler l’hôpital”, raconte Clara (prénom modifié), 15 ans. Dans les soirées de cette élève de seconde scolarisée à Saint-Mandé (Val-de-Marne), “il y a de l’alcool” et certains jeunes de son âge “ne savent pas vraiment leurs limites”.- Industriels “très inventifs” -Tout n’est donc pas encore gagné et “il faut rester prudent”, estime Nicolas Prisse. “Les industriels -ou d’ailleurs parfois les groupes criminels, quand il s’agit de stupéfiants et de produits interdits- sont très inventifs en termes de tendances et de propositions d’offres sur le marché”, ajoute-t-il. Les “puffs”, cigarettes électroniques jetables, en sont un bon exemple. Interdites à la vente depuis février en France mais qui continuent d’être vendues notamment dans les petites épiceries, elles restent une tendance bien réelle chez les adolescents, comme en témoignent les jeunes interrogés par l’AFP.”C’est aux fruits, ça sent bon”, contrairement aux cigarettes, explique Clara. “Ca a pas l’air très dangereux”, estime la lycéenne, pourtant consciente de leur nocivité.