Tyler Robinson, the man suspected of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk during a campus event at a Utah university, had eluded authorities for more than a day.
Cox said that after Robinson’s father recognized his son in the distributed photographs, he told Robinson to turn himself in.
What we know about Robinson At the press conference, Cox said Robinson had become “more political in recent years.”
One of the individuals told ABC News that Robinson was not in class on the day of the Kirk shooting.
What Robinson neighbors said Neighbors of Robinson’s parents in Washington, Utah, described the Robinson family as loving and quiet.
Tyler Robinson had been evading authorities for over a day. Robinson is suspected of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk during an event at a Utah university.
But according to officials, a sequence of events finally resulted in the 22-year-old Robinson’s arrest after his father identified him from photos that were circulated by the authorities.
Although the killing, which authorities have referred to as a “political assassination,” still has a lot of unsolved questions, information from authorities and people who know Robinson has started to piece together a picture of the suspected shooter.
Here are our current understandings of Robinson, the shooting, and his capture.
How they caught Robinson.
On Friday morning, Utah Gov. In his introductory statement, Spencer Cox said, “Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We managed to get him. “.
According to Cox, Robinson was instructed to turn himself in by his father after he recognized his son in the distributed photos. According to officials, Robinson changed his mind after first saying no.
The father then summoned a U.S. youth pastor. S. . Task force officer for Marshals. The officer suggested that Robinson remain where he was. The FBI was subsequently informed of this information.
“They made the right decision,” Cox said, thanking Robinson’s family. “..”.
Following Robinson’s identification, Cox said at the press conference, police also spoke with Robinson’s roommate, who provided them with a message between Robinson and his roommate.
“Messages related to the contact Tyler, indicating the necessity of retrieving a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush,” Cox stated.
According to officials, the messages also mentioned engraving bullets, a scope, and the rifle’s uniqueness.
ABC News was informed by several law enforcement sources that the weapon is an older, towel-wrapped Mauser .30-06 caliber bolt action rifle imported from overseas. According to the sources, the firearm’s location seems to correspond with the suspect’s path of travel.
the purported words written on shell casings.
Cox also explained the inscriptions on the casings that were discovered at the scene.
Cox claims that one of the three unfired casings said, “Hey fascist! CATCH!” and had three arrows pointing down, followed by an arrow symbol pointing up and then to the right.
The unfired casings also read “If you read this, you are GAY Lmao” and “O Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Ciao, ciao!” which appeared to be references to an Italian anti-fascist song that gained popularity after World War II. “.”.
It is unclear what the writings on the casings mean. Furthermore, it’s unclear if the writings are intended to divert or divert investigators.
In addition to mentioning fascism, which Cox claimed “speaks for itself,” he did not go into detail about what the other texts meant.
The suspect’s motivations are still unknown.
Police apprehended Robinson within 33 hours of the shooting and were on the scene within 16 minutes, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.
According to the governor, “this is a very much an ongoing investigation, and we will continue to work with state and local authorities to develop the investigation to provide them the evidence they need for their ongoing prosecutions,” Patel stated.
Our knowledge of Robinson.
Cox stated during the press conference that Robinson had grown “more political in recent years.”. “.
Cox said that during a dinner conversation with a family member, Robinson mentioned that Kirk would be visiting Utah Valley University. When Robinson and the family members talked about their disapproval of Kirk and his opinions, one of them said that Kirk was “full of hate and spreading hate,” according to Cox.
Robinson is registered to vote without identifying with any party, according to online voter registration records.
He has not cast a ballot in either of the two regular general elections and has not replied to a notice from the county clerk, so he is listed as an “inactive” voter.
Based on the records, Robinson’s parents are both registered Republicans.
Social media posts: hunting, ACT scores.
Multiple anti-Democratic memes can also be found on an Instagram page that appears to be Robinson’s father’s, which authorities are looking into as part of the investigation.
A new dawn for America! Robinson’s father also shared a sunset photo on social media the day following the 2024 election, which was won by President Trump.
Law enforcement is looking into a Facebook post from August 2020 that appeared to be from Tyler Robinson’s mother and said, “This boy is a genius, and I am hoping he’ll pick Utah college and stay close to momma!”.
The post includes a screenshot of an ACT scorecard, which indicates that Robinson received a score of 34, which puts him in the 99th percentile of test takers nationwide.
It appears from other social media that Robinson had hunting experience. Law enforcement is looking at a 2017 photo of Tyler Robinson and what looks to be a younger brother posing next to a dead deer that was uploaded to an Instagram account that seems to be owned by Tyler’s father. The caption for the photo reads, “First black powder buck! Good job boys.”.
According to officials, Robinson lived in Washington County, Utah, with his family and was not a student at Utah Valley University.
Two people, who asked not to be named, said that Robinson is currently enrolled at Dixie Technical College in Utah, a trade school where he was allegedly pursuing a career as an electrician.
Robinson wasn’t in class on the day of the Kirk shooting, according to one of the people who spoke to ABC News.
Robinson went to Pine View High School in St. before Dixie. George, according to an online graduation video that ABC News examined, will graduate in 2021. A university representative claims that he then spent one semester at Utah State University in 2021.
“Stunned” to learn that Robinson may have carried out this attack, a classmate who claims to have known Robinson for years told ABC News. They described Robinson as “friendly” but “a little more reserved,” adding that they “never really heard him talk political.”. “.
Robinson never displayed any overt “hate or malice towards other people,” the classmate continued. “.
According to the classmate, who made it clear that they were not close friends, “I never heard him talk politically.”. He never mentioned guns to me. “.
The opinions of Robinson’s neighbors.
Robinson’s parents lived in Washington, Utah, and their neighbors said the Robinson family was quiet and loving.
Living close to the Robinsons, Kristin Schwiermann said she was his childhood neighbor and the head custodian at Riverside Elementary, where he previously attended school.
She told ABC News, “At that age, he was not as quiet as he was now, but he was very active, had a few friends at school, and stayed to himself mostly, but very, very smart.”. “..”.
The Robinsons, she said, are “very loving” parents and “just seem like a very hard-working, down-to-earth family.”. “..”.
Alenea Shaw, a neighbor, recalled a period approximately ten years ago when Robinson was eager to make money and performed odd jobs such as yard work and car detailing. She remarked, “He was just a cute little boy,”.
She claimed that the family kept to themselves and was not very gregarious.
“They were just very quiet,” she stated.
Authorities had received over 7,000 tips and leads and conducted about 200 interviews as the search for the shooting suspect began its third day, according to the governor.
Contributors to this report included Tonya Simpson, Chris Looft, Lucien Bruggeman, Mike Levine, Laura Romero, Katherine Faulders, Megan Christie, and Kerem Inal from ABC News.
