Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested Friday on suspicion of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk in a shooting at Utah Valley University, authorities said, ending a 33-hour manhunt after the suspect was persuaded to turn himself in by his father.
Robinson was taken into custody late Thursday in southern Utah and faces charges including aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury and obstruction of justice, according to a probable cause affidavit. State officials said the suspect could face the death penalty if convicted. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, speaking Friday, said investigators had recovered evidence from an apartment tied to Robinson and announced, "We got him."
Investigators described elements of the evidence they said linked Robinson to the Orem, Utah, campus shooting that killed the 31-year-old Kirk on Wednesday. Officials said casings from the weapon contained multiple engravings, including references to the World War II Italian anti-fascist song "Bella Ciao," the phrase "Hey Fascists, Catch!" with directional symbols, and other inscriptions. Prosecutors also disclosed that Robinson's roommate provided Discord messages in which the alleged shooter discussed retrieving a rifle from a drop point, leaving it in a bush, and referenced the engraved bullets and a scope.
Authorities said Robinson initially told his father that he would rather kill himself than turn himself in, but was convinced to surrender after a family confrontation and a discussion with a local youth minister who also works with the U.S. Marshals Service. Law enforcement officials said Robinson confessed to his father after being confronted and that agents collected evidence at the apartment he shared with a roommate.
Classmates and people who knew Robinson in high school described a student who in many ways appeared conventional and studious. Yearbook photos show Robinson smiling in a checkered shirt, and classmates recalled he was active in the auto mechanics club at Pine View High School in St. George, Utah, and passionate about mathematics. One former classmate, Jaida Funk, said she had expected Robinson to become a businessman or chief executive, saying she imagined him as a "billionaire by 26." Another classmate described him as the sort who reminded teachers to assign homework and said he "just got along with everyone."
Other acquaintances offered a different recollection. In a social media video posted after Robinson's arrest, a former schoolmate who spent three years with him called him a "Reddit kid" and warned that heavy internet use can precede radicalization, saying, "This internet s*** is seriously no joke." Social media and family profiles showed Robinson participating in family vacations and posting selfies, as well as photographs from shooting ranges and images in which he posed with high-caliber weapons, including what appeared to be an M2 Browning .50-caliber machine gun.
Robinson received a four-year scholarship to Utah State University after high school but attended for only one semester before transferring to Dixie Technical College, where he was a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship program at the time of the shooting. He lives in a six-bedroom home in Washington, Utah, about 260 miles south of the Orem campus, officials said.
Investigators have described a timeline in which Robinson allegedly traveled to the Utah Valley University campus and fired a single fatal shot at Kirk. Local and federal agents worked through the last two days to gather forensic evidence and digital communications tied to the case. Officials said they recovered casings marked with the engravings and seized items from the apartment linked to the suspect.
Kirk, a conservative political activist known for his media and political work, was killed on campus Wednesday, prompting a high-profile response from state and federal authorities. Gov. Cox called the slaying a "watershed moment" in American history and said investigators had been informed by Robinson's family that he had become more political in recent times and had expressed a dislike for Kirk, describing him to family members as "full of hate."
Robinson was booked on the charges listed in the probable cause affidavit. As the case proceeds, prosecutors will review the forensic findings, digital communications and witness statements gathered by investigators. No trial date or arraignment details had been announced Friday.