FIRST MAN ARRESTED FOR CHARLIE KIRK SHOOTING WANTED TO HELP SHOOTER ESCAPE: Documents.
George Zinn, 71, was taken into custody following the shooting, but he was later cleared on having any direct involvement with the shooting. He was arrested on suspicion of obstruction of justice.
Currently, investigators have a suspect in custody for the shooting. Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested on September 11 after he told a family member that he was the one who shot and killed Charlie Kirk.
According to the affidavit of probable cause that was filed today, immediately after the shooting, Zinn allegedly walked up to a police officer and started yelling, “I shot him, now shoot me.” The officer could not see a weapon in his hands and placed him in handcuffs. The officer asked him where the gun was, and he reportedly said, “I am not going to tell you.”
As he was transported to the UVU Police Department, he allegedly continued to say that he shot Kirk and to just shoot him. At the Police Department, Zinn was advised of his rights and asked for a lawyer.
According to the affidavit, after he asked for a lawyer, without being asked any questions by investigators, he stated that he did not shoot Kirk and that he said he did to draw attention away from the real shooter.
Zinn was later taken to the hospital because of a medical condition, and Zinn reportedly told an officer that he was glad he said he shot the individual so the real suspect could get away. He also said he “wanted to be a martyr for the person who was shot,” according to the probable cause statement.
He was admitted to the hospital and released on September 15, and he was then booked into the Utah County Jail on suspicion of obstruction of justice in a capital/first-degree felony case, which is a second-degree felony.
WebMD defines “Main Character Syndome” as “the perception that your life is a story or a movie where you’re the central character.” Evidently Zinn believed he was the main character in an Oliver Stone or John Frankenheimer movie: “In 2013, Zinn threatened to bomb the Salt Lake City Marathon and spent a year in the can for that incident, according to reports.” And according to TMZ, “The man accused of obstructing the Charlie Kirk murder probe is in even more hot water … he’s now been charged with possessing child porn.”