The suspect accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk as he spoke on a Utah college campus earlier this week was brought into custody and is awaiting formal charges on Saturday, but the investigation into his motives and a fierce debate over political violence sparked by the assassination are far from over.
Authorities identified 22-year-old Tyler Robinson of Utah as the shooter, saying he fired a single shot from a rooftop on the Utah Valley University campus that killed Kirk on Wednesday, Sept. 10. Robinson was arrested late the night of Sept. 11, authorities said, after allegedly confessing to a family member. He faces charges of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm and obstruction of justice, according to court records obtained by USA TODAY.
Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, gave a moving address Thursday night in which she called her husband a “martyr” and vowed to continue the work of his conservative organization Turning Point USA.
“The evil-doers for my husband’s assassination have no idea what they have done,” she said. “The cries of this widow will echo around the world like a battle cry.”
Charlie Kirk, a 31-year-old activist and ally of President Donald Trump, was killed by a single gunshot while speaking in front of some 3,000 people as part of his “American Comeback Tour” at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City. The shooting sent students and onlookers running in a panic, captured on video and spread widely.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox told reporters that Robinson was taken into custody after a family member contacted a family friend, who informed authorities that Robinson had “confessed to them or implied that he committed the incident.”
Investigators used images and video from the scene, interviews with family members and messages to identify him, Cox said. Family members “did the right thing,” he said, adding that family and a friend “helped deliver” Robinson into custody.
Robinson was remembered by former classmates and neighbors and on his mother’s Facebook page as a high-achieving student and “quiet.” He had become more political recently, a family member told investigators, according to Cox. He briefly attended college for a semester and was enrolled at the time of the shooting in an electrical apprenticeship program. Neighbors said his family were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are known as Mormons.
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Investigators recovered bullet casings with messages written on them and also used messages they believe were sent to a roommate by Robinson to piece together more of the crime.
The single fired casing read, “Notices, Bulges, OwO What’s This?” Cox said. The phrase references an internet meme tied to animated videos and furry culture. One of the unfired casings said, according to Cox: “Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao.” The lyrics reference the anthem of the antifascist Italian resistance during World War II.
Cox said that another read, “Hey fascist! Catch!” The third unfired casing, according to Cox, said, “If you’re reading this, you’re gay LMAO.”
A rifle was found wrapped in a towel discarded in a wooded area off campus, authorities have said. Messages shown to them by a roommate included references to a rifle that needed to be retrieved, wrapped in a towel. The messages also referenced engraving bullets, Cox said.
Contributing: N’dea Yancey-Bragg, Thao Nguyen, Davis Winkie, Christopher Cann, Nick Penzenstadler, Aysha Bagchi, Dinah Voyles Pulver, Josh Meyer, Will Carless, David DeMille, Michael Loria and Brandon Loomis
