Alleged messages sent between Tyler Robinson, the 22-year-old suspected of shooting Charlie Kirk, and friends following the shocking assassination have been released.

Last week the death of political activist and opinion-splitting conservative talking head Kirk dominated headlines around the world. The 31-year-old was answering questions at Utah Valley University on Wednesday, September 10, when he was shot in the neck by a rifle round fired from a nearby rooftop.

The estimated 3,000-strong crowd erupted in panic as Kirk slumped back in his seat. The popular right-wing political influencer was ultimately declared dead 90 minutes later in hospital.

A concerted, highly-publicized manhunt instantly got underway, though the suspect in the shooting remained at large heading into day two of the search

Authorities were able to track the suspect as he made his escape from the rooftops and around the edge of a nearby carpark, eventually finding the rifle used in the slaying of Kirk in a wooded area. Images of the college-aged man they were looking for in connection with the shooting were soon released to the public, as well as a $100,000 reward for information leading to his capture.

Despite FBI director Kash Patel’s frankly odd proclamation that this is what happens “when you let good cops be cops”, it wasn’t through the direct work of the authorities that the suspect was ultimately apprehended.

Rather, it was the suspect’s own father – in the knowledge that his son would more than likely be facing the death penalty – who convinced him to turn himself in.

That suspect was 22-year-old Tyler Robinson of Utah.