NEED TO KNOW
- Right-wing activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot during a Turning Point USA event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10
- After a nearly 33-hour manhunt, officials identified Tyler Robinson as the alleged shooter, though he has not yet been formally charged
- Police also discovered anti-fascist messages engraved onto the bullet casings, but the suspect’s political leanings remain unclear
Tyler Robinson has been taken into custody in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk.
On Sept. 10, the conservative activist was shot during a rally hosted by Turning Point USA, which he founded in 2012, at Utah Valley University. He was manning one of his signature “prove me wrong” tables — in which he invited critics to debate him on various political subjects — when a shot was fired nearly 200 yards away, according to officials.
In the initial aftermath, authorities detained and released two persons of interest in connection with the shooting, though they released them after determining they were not connected to the political commentator’s death. It wasn’t until Friday, Sept. 12, that President Donald Trump said on Fox & Friends that he believed “with a high degree of certainty we have him [the suspect] in custody.”
Shortly after, officials confirmed during a press conference that they had taken a suspect into custody after receiving a tip from the alleged shooter’s family friend. “We got him,” Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said, identifying Tyler Robinson as the primary suspect.
So, who is Tyler Robinson? Here’s what we know about the Utah resident suspected of assassinating Charlie Kirk, so far.
He is a Utah resident and unaffiliated voter
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During the Sept. 12 press conference, officials identified the suspected shooter as 22-year-old Utah resident Robinson.
In a statement to PEOPLE, the Utah Board of Higher Education shared that he grew up in Washington, Utah, and is a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College.
The governor shared that Robinson allegedly had become “more political in recent years.”
However, he is registered as an unaffiliated voter. Utah voter records show that he has not voted in each of the past two general elections and has not responded to notices sent by the country clerk.
Robinson allegedly shot Kirk from a roof nearly 200 yards away
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As officials have shared, the suspect is believed to have fired the shot from the roof of a building about 200 yards away from where Kirk was speaking. Officials shared during a Sept. 11 press conference that surveillance footage showed the shooter arriving at Utah Valley University’s campus at 11:52 a.m. MT, just before the shooting, which took place at about 12:20 p.m.
Surveillance footage released by authorities also showed a man running away from the scene, jumping down from the roof before fleeing into a wooded area off campus.
A forearm imprint, a footwear print and a palm imprint were located on the roof of the building, but for the next 33 hours, there was an ongoing manhunt to identify and catch the suspected shooter.
He was taken into custody after a family friend turned him in
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FBI Director Kash Patel shared during the press conference that Robinson was taken into custody at 10 p.m. MT on Sept. 11 — one day after the shooting occurred.
As the Utah governor shared during the press conference, the alleged shooter was identified after one of his relatives reached out to a family friend saying that Robinson had “confessed to them or implied” that he had committed the shooting. Then, the family friend contacted the authorities.
“I want to thank the family members of Tyler Robinson, who did the right thing in this case,” Cox said.
Robinson is currently being held without bail at a Utah jail and is expected to be charged with several crimes, including aggravated murder, per authorities.
A motive has yet to be revealed
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The alleged shooter’s motive has not yet been revealed. According to Cox, inscriptions on some of the bullet casings allegedly belonging to Robinson bore political messages.
One inscription found on the bullet casing fired at Kirk read, “notices, bulges, OwO, what’s this?”
Officials also shared that they found the .30-06 Mauser rifle discovered in the woods near the university, along with a message on unspent casings: “Hey fascist, catch,” the engravings read, followed by an up arrow, right arrow and three down arrows.
Referring to the anti-fascist inscription, Cox said he thinks the engravings “speaks for itself.”
An additional one read, “O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao ciao,” while another was printed, “If you read this you are gay lmao,” per Cox.
According to Cox, Robinson also allegedly spoke about Kirk’s upcoming visit to the university at a dinner with family members.
“They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had,” the governor shared, adding that the suspect said that “Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate.”