Authorities confirmed that Tyler Robinson, the suspect in jail for the murder of Charlie Kirk, is being placed under “special watch” until he has a mental health evaluation.
According to a statement from the department, Robinson, 22, will remain in the Utah County Sheriff’s Department’s special housing unit under “special watch” to allow officials to closely monitor his mental health. The sheriff’s department warned that the procedure could take a few days.
Robinson will keep going with the classification process to find out where he will stay when he is in jail after he is cleared.
“He will continue to be monitored by mental, medical, and custody staff throughout the duration of his stay,” the sheriff’s department said.
The police said that the “special watch” status is given for several reasons, such as the type of crime the suspect is being held on, behavioral problems, violent behavior, or suicidal words made during the arrest.
The sheriff’s office said it hasn’t been made aware of any specific suicidal thoughts or words about Robinson.
Robinson shot and killed Kirk, a 31-year-old, on Wednesday at Utah Valley University. Kirk was talking to a group of people at a Turning Point USA event in Orem. He is married and has two young children.
Robinson was caught after being on the run for 33 hours.
Before Robinson’s father turned himself in, a law enforcement source told Fox News Digital that he told the FBI that he recognized his son from surveillance video images that the FBI had shared during the manhunt.
The person told Fox News Digital that Robinson told his father he was going to kill himself when he got there. Sources told Fox News Digital that the dad talked to a preacher whom the family knew before he turned in his son.
On Sunday morning, Utah Gov. Brian Cox told ABC News that Robinson was not working with police while he was in jail.
“He has not confessed to authorities. He is not cooperating, but all the people around him are cooperating. And I think that’s, that’s, that’s very important,” Cox told ABC News.
The governor said that Robinson’s family members and his romantic partner, a man who is transitioning from male to female, are cooperating with authorities. He added that those who know the 22-year-old say he was “deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology.”
FBI Director Kash Patel detailed on Monday the contents of a text message exchange between the suspected assassin of Charlie Kirk and a close friend. In the messages, the killer indicated he had a chance to “take out Charlie Kirk” and that he was “going to do it.”
During an interview on Fox & Friends, Patel spoke about the arrest of alleged assassin Tyler Robinson and said that it was one of the “shocking” things he’s discovered from the federal probe.
Patel also revealed that DNA found on a screwdriver left on the roof of Utah Valley University and the towel wrapped around the weapon found near the site of the Kirk attack has matched Robinson.
“He had a text message exchange, he, the suspect with another individual in which he claimed that he had an opportunity to take out Charlie Kirk and he was going to do it because of his hatred for what Charlie stood for,” Patel told Fox co-hosts Brian Kilmeade, Ainsley Earhardt, and Lawrence Jones. “Those are factually accurate investigatory findings by the FBI that we have handed over to the local authorities and the federal authorities to make their prosecutorial decisions.”
He added that DNA found on the towel the rifle was wrapped in, as well as a screwdriver found on the rooftop, matches that of the suspect.
The gun, however, is still being processed by investigators from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
