Updated September 12, 2025 at 9:47 AM MDT
Authorities have arrested a suspect in the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, officials said Friday, bringing an end to a frantic manhunt for the gunman.
"We got him," Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said at a news conference.
Cox identified the suspect as Tyler Robinson of Utah. He said one of Robinson's family members reached out to a friend, who contacted the Washington County sheriff's office on Thursday night with information that Robinson had confessed or implied that he was the gunman.
That information was relayed to authorities, and FBI Director Kash Patel said Robinson was arrested at 10 p.m. local time Thursday night.
Cox said investigators interviewed a family member, who said that Robinson had "become more political in recent years." The family member also recounted a recent dinner with Robinson at which he stated that Kirk was going to be speaking at Utah Valley University.
"They talked about why they didn't like him and the viewpoints that he had," Cox said. "The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate."
Cox said investigators also spoke with Robinson's roommate, who showed authorities messages allegedly from Robinson on the social media platform Discord. In those messages, the individual believed to be Robinson says he needs to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, and stated the firearm was wrapped in a towel.
Inscriptions on bullets
Authorities have previously said they found a rifle wrapped in a towel, which is the gun they believe was used in the shooting.
Cox said the gun was a Mauser bolt-action rifle with a mounted scope. He also said that investigators recovered bullets that bore inscriptions on them.
The writing on the single spent casing, he said, read, "Notices bulges OWO what's this?" It's not clear what that meant.
The note on one unfired casing was "Hey fascist! Catch!" along with arrow symbols. He said the inscriptions on the other unfired casings read, "O Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao Ciao Ciao," which appears to be a reference to an Italian anti-fascist resistance song. A third unfired casing carried the words "if you read this you are gay lmao."
Kirk was fatally shot while speaking to a crowd of students at Utah Valley University on Wednesday afternoon, sparking a massive search for the gunman.
After the shooting, the FBI and the Utah Department of Public Safety released photos of the suspect, dressed in a black shirt and hat and carrying a black backpack, as well as video of him scampering across a roof on campus after the shooting and fleeing.
Investigators reviewed additional surveillance footage from campus, Cox said, and determined that Robinson arrived at the university in a gray Dodge Challenger around 8:30 a.m. on the day of the shooting. In the video, Robinson is wearing a plain maroon T-shirt, light colored shorts and a black hat.
President Trump announced on Fox & Friends earlier Friday that authorities had a suspect in custody.
"I hope he's going to be found guilty, I would imagine, and I hope he gets the death penalty," Trump said.
This story will be updated.
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