An elderly man who was detained in the immediate aftermath of the shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk told police he falsely confessed to the killing in an effort to draw attention away from the real gunman and give him time to flee, according to a probable cause statement filed by investigators. The man, identified by authorities as 71-year-old George Zinn, was arrested at Utah Valley University moments after the shot that killed Kirk on 10 September. Officers say he approached them in the crowd and shouted, “I shot him, now shoot me,” before being taken into custody. He was later booked on a second-degree felony count of obstruction of justice and, in subsequent remarks to officers, admitted he had not fired the shot, telling them he wanted to help the true assailant escape. “He also stated to Officers that he wanted to be a martyr for the person who was shot,” the documents say.
Police accounts describe a chaotic scene at an outdoor campus event where Kirk was speaking when the single rifle round was fired from an elevated position. A detective stationed to the rear of the venue reported hearing what sounded like a gunshot, seeing people run, and then being confronted by an elderly man who announced he was the shooter and exhorted officers to shoot him in turn. The officer, who said he could see both of the man’s hands, found no weapon, placed him in handcuffs and asked where the gun was. Zinn allegedly replied he was not going to say. At the police station, when told by a detective he did not believe Zinn was the shooter, Zinn replied, “I am already going to be in trouble for saying I shot him. Even if I did not,” before ultimately admitting he had claimed responsibility to distract officers from the actual gunman, according to the statement. Zinn was later transported to a hospital for an undisclosed medical issue; an officer present says Zinn remarked he was “glad that he had said he shot the person, so the real shooter could escape.” He was released from hospital and booked into jail on the obstruction charge.
A separate local report, citing court records and hearings, said a judge ordered Zinn held without bail as the investigation into the killing continued and that he is well known to Utah authorities for prior arrests unrelated to the Kirk case. The same account stated that the false confession came “moments after the shooting” and reiterated that Zinn told officers he acted as a decoy. While those reports emphasised Zinn’s long history of confrontations with officials, police have not alleged he had any operational role in the shooting itself beyond the admitted attempt to draw attention.
The false confession came during the first critical minutes of a case that swiftly pivoted to a statewide manhunt for the suspected gunman. Utah officials announced the arrest the next day of Tyler Robinson, 22, who was later identified publicly as the alleged assassin. Investigators say Robinson fired from a rooftop perch on the Orem campus and fled on foot, leaving behind items that, according to the FBI, carry his DNA. Authorities have said they believe Robinson acted alone in the shooting while continuing to probe whether anyone had foreknowledge or offered assistance before or after the attack.