Tyler Robinson Arrested for Charlie Kirk’s Murder; Engravings on Bullet Casings Revealed

Authorities arrested the suspect in the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk late last night after his father turned him in, authorities announced this morning.

“We got him,” GOP Utah Governor Spencer Cox said about the arrest of Tyler Robinson some three hours away from Utah Valley University (UVU), the scene of the murder.

First word of the arrest came from President Trump this morning on Fox & Friends. Cox, FBI chief Kash Patel, and other officials detailed the arrest during a news conference.

The arrest came less than 36 hours after Kirk was murdered.

The Arrest

“I think, with a high degree of certainty, we have him in custody…. Everyone did a great job. We worked with the local police, the governor; everybody did a great job,” Trump said.

“Somebody that’s close recognizes even a little tilt of the head, which nobody else would do,” the president continued:

And somebody that was very close to him said “hmm, that’s him,” and essentially went to the father, went to a U.S. marshal who is fantastic. The person was involved in law enforcement, but was a person of faith, a minister.… The father convinced the son, “This is it.”

“Two law enforcement sources said Robinson’s father reported his son to clergy, who took the tip to the U.S. Marshals Service,” CBS News reported.

Fox News showed the probable cause affidavit, which said that a “family member of Tyler Robinson reached out to a family friend, who contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with information that Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he had committed” the crime. That information went to the FBI.

Cox corrected an earlier report that the suspect arrived on campus at 11:52 a.m. In fact, Robinson arrived on campus in a gray Dodge Challenger at about 8:29 a.m. and was seen “on video in a plain maroon T-shirt, light-colored shorts, a black hat with a white logo. and light-colored shoes.”

“When encountered in person by investigators in Washington County on September 12th in the early morning hours, Robinson was observed in consistent clothing with the surveillance images,” Cox continued:

Investigators interviewed a family member of Robinson, who stated that Robinson had become more political in recent years. The family member referenced a recent incident in which Robinson came to dinner, prior to September 10th, and in conversation with another family member, Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU. They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints he had. The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate. The family member also confirmed that Robinson had a gray Dodge Challenger. 

Robinson’s roommate, Cox said, turned over Discord messages to investigators, including one “stating 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 discussed a rifle scope and the engraving on the bullets. The rifle was a 30.06 Mauser 98 wrapped in a “dark-colored towel.”

Cox also revealed what was written on the bullet casings.

On the spent casing was engraved with “Notices, bulges, OWO what’s this?”

The three unfired bullet casings said the following:

• “Hey Fascist! Catch! ⬆️➡️⬇️⬇️⬇️.”

• “Oh Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao Ciao Ciao.”

• “If you read this you are gay. LMAO.”

The arrows might refer to the controller moves that release bombs in the science-fiction shooter video game “Helldivers,” The New York Times reported.

Bella Ciao was the anthem of the communist-influenced Italian resistance in World War II.

Cox said the assassination was a “watershed in American history.” Social media is a “cancer on our society,” he said, urging people to put down their phones, “hug a family member and go out and do good in your community.”

Congratulating the FBI and state and local law enforcement, FBI Director Kash Patel said only 33 hours elapsed between Kirk’s murder and Robinson’s arrest at 10 p.m. last night.

Late yesterday, the FBI released more footage of the suspect’s dash across a roof and subsequent flight across campus.

The Murder

Kirk, 31, was the founder of Turning Point USA, and frequently spoke on college campuses and debated students.

On Wednesday, he was speaking during his American Comeback tour. He was shot as he addressed a question about mass shootings.

“Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America over the last 10 years?” someone asked.

“Counting or not counting gang violence?” Kirk replied.

As Kirk finished, a bullet hit him in the neck. He jerked upward, then fell.

Last night, flying on Air Force 2, Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife, Usha, escorted Kirk’s remains and his widow, Erika, to Arizona.

Funeral details have not been released, the newspaper reported, but President Trump said he will attend. “They’ve asked me to go, and I think I have an obligation to be there,” The Associated Press reported.

“An air traffic controller welcomed Kirk home as the plane hit the ground,” the Arizona Republic reported:

“Welcome home, Charlie,” the traffic controller said over the ground-to-air radio system. “You didn’t deserve it. May God bless your family.”