Tyler Robinson was a brilliant, church-going kid who received a prestigious academic scholarship to college before he grew increasingly political and fatally targeted conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, according to police and neighbors Friday.
Robinson, 22, was a “very nice” Mormon, or member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and regularly went to church with his family when he was young, said neighbors of his family’s home in Washington, Utah, in the state’s far southwest corner.
“I knew his mom, you know, just by church and school,” local Kristin Scheiermann told The Post, referring to the suspect’s mother, Amber.
Robinson “was very nice.
“He was smart. I hear he aced his ACTs [pre-college exam]. I hear he had a full-ride scholarship” to college, she said, adding that he would get on and off the bus each day to and from Pine View High School.
“He was a smart kid … I was shocked this was even him,” she added.
Robinson was admitted to Utah State University while receiving the college’s presidential scholarship, the “highest academic scholarship” the school offers, university rep Amanda DeRito told The Post.
But the accused killer spent just one semester at the Logan school in fall 2021 before he took a leave of absence for reasons the school could not disclose, she said.
Most recently, Robinson was enrolled as a third-year student at Dixie Technical College in St. George, Utah, where he was in the electrical apprenticeship program, college officials said.
He had been living in Washington County when he was taken into custody by authorities after his father convinced him to turn himself in, officials said.
Stay up to date on the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk
Robinson’s father recognized his face when the FBI plastered a grainy photo of him over the internet, sources said.
The concerned father confronted his son, who admitted he had fired the single shot that killed Kirk while he was speaking at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
When the dad asked Robinson to turn himself in, the son said he would rather kill himself, sources said.
The father encouraged his son to speak with their youth minister, who also works with the US Marshals Service, sources said. The minister then called the authorities, sources said, and the FBI arrested Robinson early Friday.
Robinson had become increasingly political in recent years and ranted just before killing Kirk that he believed the activist was “full of hate,’’ officials said Friday.
He was seething about Kirk’s upcoming campus appearance during a dinner days before the event, raving about how he “didn’t like [Kirk] and the viewpoints he had,’’ Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said at a press briefing.
A family friend at the dinner had detailed the inflammatory exchange to investigators, the governor said.
Scheiermann said she believes there are three things that turned Robinson from a nice boy into a suspected assassin.
“There’s three factors: bad friends, influence from social media, social media and mental health. And I think all three of those factors are part of our problem in this world, and I think that was it,” she said.
Scheiermann said the neighborhood would be there to support the family through their difficult time.
Robinson is expected to be charged with aggravated murder among other state charges, according to a probable cause affidavit released on Friday.
