This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . The next check for changes will be

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/12/charlie-kirk-shooting-new-video-of-suspect-released-by-fbi-asamid-urgent-appeal-for-help-from-the-public

The article has changed 18 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 6 Version 7
Charlie Kirk shooting: Utah governor confirms arrest of suspect Charlie Kirk shooting: Utah governor confirms arrest of suspect
(about 2 hours later)
Spencer Cox identifies the suspect as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, as FBI faces scrutiny for its response to shooting Spencer Cox identifies suspect as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson, who was arrested near the border of Utah and Arizona
Charlie Kirk shooting – follow latest updatesCharlie Kirk shooting – follow latest updates
How the shooting unfolded – in maps, videos and imagesHow the shooting unfolded – in maps, videos and images
A suspect was arrested late on Thursday in southern Utah in connection with the fatal shooting of rightwing activist Charlie Kirk, Spencer Cox said on Friday morning, identifying the man as Tyler Robinson. A suspect has been arrested in southern Utah in connection with the fatal shooting of rightwing activist Charlie Kirk, Spencer Cox said on Friday morning, identifying the man as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.
“We got him,” the Utah governor said at a press conference. “We got him,” the Utah governor said at a press conference, adding that Robinson was arrested and taken into custody in Washington county, which is close to the state border with Arizona, on Thursday at 10pm local time.
Donald Trump had earlier said on Friday morning that he had been informed that someone was now in custody, suspected of Kirk’s killing on Wednesday at an event at Utah Valley University (UVU). Cox said a family friend of Robinson’s reached out the authorities and told officers that Robinson “confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident”.
The US president in a TV interview earlier on Friday morning said he had heard the news moments before going on air. Robinson was spotted wearing clothing that were consistent with surveillance images and said that investigators have also seen messages he sent via the group chat app Discord that linked him to the shooting, Cox said.
“I think with a high degree of certainty we have him in custody,” Trump said in a live studio interview with the Fox & Friends morning program. Kirk was shot and killed with a single bullet fired from a distant rooftop while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem. Around 3,000 people had gathered to hear from the 31-year-old, a co-founder of the hard right youth organization Turning Point USA, or to debate him over his characteristic inflammatory public speech and often-extremist views on race, immigration, gender identity and gun rights.
Reuters said Robinson is 22. Cox said that family members told investigators that the suspect in the killing, Robinson, had “become more political in recent years” and had mentioned that Kirk was coming to UVU at a prior family dinner.
Cox said that Robinson had reached out to a family friend who then contacted the office of the sheriff of Washington county, 260 miles south of Orem, the home of the university where Kirk was killed, just south of Salt Lake City.
Robinson was arrested in Washington county late on Thursday night, where family members lived. Cox said he was not a student at UVU, which contradicted some earlier media reports.
Cox said Robinson was spotted wearing clothing that were consistent with surveillance images.
“Investigators interviewed a family member of Robinson who stated that Robinson had become more political in recent years” and at a prior family dinner had said that he knew 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,” Cox said.“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,” Cox said.
Cox said one unfired bullet in the gun found near the scene of the killing had been marked with the message “hey, fascist”. A high-powered Mauser rifle found near the scene of the suspect’s initial escape route contained an unfired bullet that Cox said was marked with the message “hey, fascist, catch!”.
The hunt for Kirk’s killer had intensified, as the FBI faced scrutiny for its response to the attack and officials had pleaded with the public for help. And other casings appeared to reference gaming and online meme culture including “Oh Bella Ciao” – an Italian folk song that originally became an anti-fascist resistance anthem during the second world war and is popularized in some video games – and a homophobic slur: “If you read this, you are gay LMAO [laughing my ass off].”
Trump said in the interview that he believes Kirk’s killer should receive the death penalty. Cox said that Robinson’s roommate had shown investigators Discord messages he sent which were “affiliated with the contact, Tyler, stating a need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point” and referring to having left the rifle wrapped in a towel.
“In Utah you have death penalty, and a good governor there, I have gotten to know him. The governor is intent on the death penalty in this case and he should be,” Trump said. Cox said Robinson was not a student at UVU and a UVU spokesperson confirmed to the Guardian that they had no record of him attending.
Cox, in repeated earlier calls for the public’s help in catching the suspect had also said he favored the death penalty for Kirk’s murder. The spokesperson told the Guardian that Robinson is currently a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College and that he briefly attended Utah State University for one semester in 2021. Robinson received concurrent enrollment credit through Utah Tech University from 2019 to 2021, while in high school, the spokesperson added.
More than 24 hours after Kirk was shot while speaking in front of thousands of people at a Utah university, the state’s governor, appearing alongside Kash Patel and other officials, had said “we need as much help as we can possibly get.” Concluding the news conference on Friday, Cox said that this “is a very sad day for our country, a terrible day for the state of Utah, but I’m grateful that at this moment, we have an opportunity to bring closure to this very dark chapter in our nation’s history”.
This Patel had himself fumbled early announcements in the case, saying on social media on Wednesday that “the subject for the horrific shooting today that took the life of Charlie Kirk is now in custody” – before that unnamed person was released hours later without charges and the urgent search for the actual perpetrator resumed. Earlier on Friday morning, Donald Trump, in a live TV studio interview with the Fox & Friends morning show, said he had heard the news of an arrest moments before going on air.
Investigators and the public had been poring over newly released video showing a person running across a roof, climbing off the edge of the building and dropping to the ground. “I think with a high degree of certainty we have him in custody,” the US president said.
The FBI had offered up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person. Trump believes Kirk’s killer should receive the death penalty, echoing earlier calls for that from Cox, a Republican.
During the intense search for the shooter, investigators and the public had been poring over video officially released, showing the suspect running across a roof, climbing off the edge of the building and dropping to the ground.
The FBI had offered up to $100,000 for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person, having on Wednesday detained but then released without charge two other persons “of interest”.
The death of Kirk – a close ally of Trump – has drawn renewed attention to the escalating threat of political violence in the United States which, in the last several years, has cut across the ideological spectrum. The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation from political leaders.The death of Kirk – a close ally of Trump – has drawn renewed attention to the escalating threat of political violence in the United States which, in the last several years, has cut across the ideological spectrum. The assassination drew bipartisan condemnation from political leaders.
Cox said on Thursday, “there is a tremendous amount of disinformation” online. Cox said on Thursday, “there is a tremendous amount of disinformation” online and encouraged the public to ignore it.
“Our adversaries want violence,” Cox said. “We have bots from Russia, China, all over the world that are trying to instil disinformation and encourage violence. I would encourage you to ignore those, to turn off those streams.” Trump, when asked further in his Friday TV interview about how “we fix the country” or “come back together” after Kirk’s shooting, said that he “couldn’t care less” and launched into partisan accusations.
When asked further in his Friday TV interview about how we “fix the country” or “come back together” after Kirk’s shooting, Trump said that he “couldn’t care less”.
He added: “The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don’t want to see crime. They don’t want to see crime, worried about the border,” adding: “The radicals on the left are the problem, and they’re vicious and they’re horrible and they’re politically savvy.”He added: “The radicals on the right oftentimes are radical because they don’t want to see crime. They don’t want to see crime, worried about the border,” adding: “The radicals on the left are the problem, and they’re vicious and they’re horrible and they’re politically savvy.”
On Thursday evening, Kirk’s casket had arrived in his home state of Arizona aboard Air Force Two on Thursday evening, accompanied by JD Vance. The vice-president’s wife, Usha, stepped off the plane with Kirk’s widow, Erika. On Thursday evening, Kirk’s casket had arrived in his home state of Arizona aboard Air Force Two on Thursday evening, accompanied by JD Vance, who has lionized Kirk. The vice-president’s wife, Usha, stepped off the plane with Kirk’s widow, Erika.
Vance helped carry Kirk’s casket with a group of uniformed service members as it was loaded on to the plane. Kirk’s conservative youth organization, Turning Point USA, was based in Phoenix. Turning Point USA and Kirk’s family home are in Arizona.
“So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene,” Vance wrote on social media, referencing Kirk’s role in getting Donald Trump elected last year. “He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.” Kirk was a provocateur and a divisive figure who is credited with helping bring young people, especially men, into the US president’s “Make America great again” (Maga) movement. He was also known for bigoted views, calling for a total ban on transgender healthcare, describing immigration from Muslim countries as “civilizational suicide”, and peddling conspiracy theories about Trump’s loss in the 2020 election.
Kirk was a provocateur and a divisive figure who is credited with helping bring young people, especially men, into the US president’s Make America Great Again (Maga) movement. He was also known for voicing bigoted views, calling for a total ban on transgender healthcare, describing immigration from Muslim countries as “civilizational suicide”, and peddling conspiracy theories about the results of the 2020 election.
Kirk’s killing drew bipartisan condemnation of the rise in political violence in the US.Kirk’s killing drew bipartisan condemnation of the rise in political violence in the US.
Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska who is retiring after this term, told NBC News that he wished Trump would unite the country after the shooting, “but he’s a populist, and populists dwell on anger”. Congressman Don Bacon, a Republican from Nebraska told NBC News that he wished Trump would unite the country after the shooting, “but he’s a populist, and populists dwell on anger”.
“I have to remind people, we had Democrats killed in Minnesota too, right?” Bacon added, in reference to the murder of Minnesota’s former house speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in June by a gunman with a hitlist of 45 people, all Democrats. “I have to remind people, we had Democrats killed in Minnesota too, right?” Bacon added. This referred to the murder of Minnesota’s former house speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in June by a gunman who severely wounded two others and had a hitlist of 45 people, all Democrats. Mike Lee, a Utah senator, spread disinformation about those murders, while condemning Kirk’s killing this week.
With Reuters and the Associated Press Reuters and Associated Press contributed reporting