Man claimed to have shot Charlie Kirk to allow gunman to escape, police said

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By: Jeff Tavss

OREM, Utah — In the immediate aftermath of last week's fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk, images of a man being led away in handcuffs sparked instant confusion, with many believing that a shooting suspect had already been taken into custody.

It wasn't until about an hour after the shooting that officials said the man, identified as George Zinn, 71, had been arrested for Obstruction of Justice, but was not implicated in the actual shooting.

New police documents obtained by FOX 13 News showed what led to Zinn's arrest in the moments after a gunshot rang out on the Utah Valley University campus, with Zinn himself originally claiming to be the gunman.

According to police, immediately after the shooting, Zinn approached an officer and yelled, "I shot him now shoot me." Even after the officer saw both of Zinn's hands and did not spot a weapon, Zinn again yelled, "I shot him now shoot me," leading to his arrest.

WATCH: Video from witnesses shows Zinn being taken into custody

When Zinn was asked where his weapon was, he allegedly said he wasn't going to say. The officer did a quick search and pat down of Zinn, and was still unable to locate a weapon.

As he was being escorted to a police vehicle in handcuffs, Zinn once again claimed to have been the shooter and told the officer to "just shoot him."

Once at the police department, Zinn asked for an attorney and then claimed that he did not, in fact, shoot Kirk and had only claimed to have done so "to draw attention from the real shooter." As he was later being transported to the hospital due to a medical condition, Zinn made similar comments, adding that he "wanted to be a martyr for the person who was shot."

Because of Zinn's first comments, police said he delayed the investigation into Kirk's death and took up law enforcement resources needed for the investigation.

Nearly 48 hours after the shooting, Tyler Robinson was arrested in connection with the shooting. As of Monday, police have not made any statement that said Zinn knows Robinson or was even aware of the plan to shoot Kirk.

Zinn was booked into the Utah County Jail on a charge of Obstruction of Justice, a second degree felony.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5775680&forum_id=2Reputation#49273589)

no, he wanted to be a martyr for the person who did the shooting

Zinn was booked into the Utah County Jail on a charge of Obstruction of Justice, a second degree felony.

in illinois, this shit can get you up to five years in prison

in utah, "In Utah, a second-degree felony can result in a prison term ranging from 1 to 15 years and a fine of up to $10,000."

due to the egregious nature and intent of zinn's obstruction, i think he might get the rare maximum of this which would be close to a death sentence. i hope he does. he deserves it.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5775680&forum_id=2Reputation#49273646)