Authorities announced Friday morning that they have arrested the suspected gunman in conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination: 22-year-old Tyler Robinson of Utah.
The announcement of Robinson’s arrest came two days after he allegedly perched on a roof at Utah Valley University and shot Kirk through the neck with a single bullet during a public forum, killing him in front of thousands of attendees.
Robinson was turned in to officials on Thursday evening by a family member, who was later identified by multiple media reports as his father. While an investigation into the gory event remains ongoing, here is what we have learned so far about the suspected assassin.
The manhunt
At a Friday press conference, Utah Governor Spencer Cox provided the first details about the investigation into Kirk’s death on September 10. The information focused on the suspected assassin’s communications, his movements on campus, and the firearm evidence recovered after the shooting.
While detectives were piecing together this information, Cox said investigators interviewed a family member of Robinson who said the 22-year-old had become more political in recent years. The family member also told investigators that at a recent dinner, Robinson told his family that Kirk would soon be coming to Utah Valley University.
“They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had,” said Cox. “The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate.”
Investigators also spoke with Robinson’s roommate, who was able to provide evidence of Discord messages sent by Robinson. The governor said these messages stated the following: “A need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush, messages related to visually watching the area where a rifle was left, and a message referring to having left the rifle wrapped in a towel. The messages also referred to engraving bullets and a mention of a scope and the rifle being unique. Messages from the contact, Tyler, also mentioned that he had changed outfits.”
‘Hey fascist, catch!’
Along with recovering the rifle Robinson allegedly dropped in the woods while fleeing the shooting, bullet casings recovered from the scene contained inscriptions aligning with what investigators learned of Robinson during the interviews.
The governor shared the engravings found on both fired and unfired ammunition. On the latter, Cox said the messages read: “If you read this, you are gay LMAO,” “Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao,” and “Hey fascist, catch!” followed by a series of arrows that the New York Times matched with a game controller move sequence which releases a bomb in the video game Helldivers 2.
On the bullet that killed Kirk, the inscription said, “Notices bulges OwO what’s this?”
Cox declined to offer his speculation on the meaning of these messages, but, according to many online users, they refer to trolling phrases often used in digital gaming and roleplay communities. The “Bella ciao” writing, the NY Times said, is from an Italian song adopted by the anti-fascist resistance during World War II. “It is still sung by the Italian left to commemorate the end of fascism,” the Times reported.
However, Cox indicated that one message seemed to stand out more clearly than the rest. “The one that says ‘Catch, fascist’ — and by the way, that’s catch like, catch a ball — I think that [engraving] speaks for itself,” Cox said.
Tyler Robinson’s life through a digital footprint
In the hours after Robinson’s identity was revealed, details of his were quickly removed from his family and friends’ social media pages – many of their accounts have gone dark. However, in the short time that online information remained available from close sources, here is what KTLA and other media outlets were able to compile:
Robinson grew up in Washington County, Utah, as the oldest of three boys in a family of five. The Washington County School District reportedly told Fox News that Robinson was a student in their system from 2008 to May 2021.
Facebook photos posted by his mother, Amber, showed a range of adventures, achievements and other moments depicting a close family upbringing in Utah.
In 2020, one photo showed what appeared to be Robinson’s ACT standardized testing score of 34 out of 36 — which USA Today reported would have placed Robinson in the top 1% of test takers. The next year, social media photos showed Robinson moving into Utah State University (USU), and one video appeared to show Robinson reading a letter declaring he was awarded the Presidential scholarship for about $32,000.
Fox News said it received a statement from USU, saying, “Utah State University confirms that Tyler Robinson, the suspect arrested in the killing of Charlie Kirk, briefly attended Utah State University for one semester in 2021… We can also confirm that he was a pre-engineering major and took classes consistent with that major for his one semester.”
It was not immediately clear what Robinson did after attending college, but USA Today reported speaking with neighbors who said the suspect lived at home with his parents.
Why assassinate Charlie Kirk?
While authorities have not yet declared a definitive motive, calling it only “political,” millions of people have been searching for answers online.
Social media users quickly circulated photos from Robinson’s life, including one from 2017 showing him in an inflatable Donald Trump costume for Halloween and others of him and his brothers repeatedly posing with guns. These pictures, which suggest he was raised in a community where firearms were common, are not official findings from the investigation.
What authorities and official documents have confirmed is that Robinson expressed his dislike for Charlie Kirk, a well-known and controversial conservative political debater.
Regarding Robinson’s political affiliations, the New York Times obtained Utah voting records that show he was unaffiliated with a political party. The records also noted his “inactive” status, which suggests he did not vote in the most recent presidential election—his first since turning 18.
On social media platforms like X and TikTok, many users have speculated about Robinson’s training. Unofficial diagrams analyzing the shooter’s position and the bullet’s impact point on Kirk’s throat have led many to believe the shot required professional experience. As of Friday morning, authorities had not commented on Robinson’s background with firearms, and his family and friends had not publicly provided any information.
Coverage on the 2025 assassination of Charlie Kirk is developing, and KTLA will provide more information as investigation updates become available.
The post Charlie Kirk assassination: What we know about suspect Tyler Robinson appeared first on KTLA.
