DNA evidence links suspect to Charlie Kirk's killing: FBI

Washington, Sep 16 (IANS) US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel said that investigators have found DNA evidence tying alleged Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson to last week's crime scene.

"We have the DNA on the screwdriver that was found on the rooftop and the towel that the firearm was wrapped in," Patel said in an interview with Fox News on Monday.

The rifle itself is being processed at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives laboratories in Maryland, Patel noted.

The FBI director also said that the suspect's family has collectively told investigators that he subscribed to "left-wing" ideology and "even more so in these last couple of years."

Kirk, a right-wing activist and influencer, was fatally shot in the neck on Wednesday while debating in front of the audience during an event at Utah Valley University, Xinhua news agency reported.

Roughly 33 hours after the shooting, the 22-year-old suspect was apprehended in Washington County, Utah after relatives helped identify him from images released by investigators.

A family member of Robinson reached out to a family friend who contacted the Washington County Sheriff's Office with information that Robinson had confessed to them, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said on Friday.

During a Sunday appearance on NBC, the Utah governor said that interviews conducted by investigators with friends and relatives of Robinson indicated that he had a "leftist ideology" that was "very different" from that of his conservative family.

Despite being a registered voter, state voting records showed that Robinson is unaffiliated with any political party, and indicated that he did not vote in the November presidential election -- the first presidential election since he turned 18. His parents are both registered Republicans.

The authorities have continued to search for a motive.

--IANS

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