A 22-year-old from Utah has been arrested over the killing of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, who was shot dead while on stage at a university event earlier this week.
Tyler Robinson was taken into custody late on Thursday after a 33-hour manhunt that ended after his father helped persuade him to surrender to police.
Utah police stand outside a residence in Washington, Utah, associated with Tyler Robinson, the suspect in the fatal shooting of US conservative commentator Charlie Kirk, on September 12, 2025 [Steve Marcus/Reuters]
His arrest was first announced by President Donald Trump, who called for the suspect to face the death penalty.
The killing of Kirk, who was shot while debating students on Wednesday, has shocked Americans and laid bare the country’s sharp partisan political divisions.
At a news conference on Friday, investigators said the suspect confessed to his father and said he would rather take his own life than surrender. The father then called a youth pastor who is a family friend.
Both men tried to calm the suspect down, police said. The pastor, who also serves as a court security officer, later called the US Marshals who detained the suspect at around 22:00 local time on Thursday.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox said surveillance images showed Robinson arriving on the campus of Utah Valley University around four hours before a shot rang out, killing Kirk and sending students running for cover.
The governor told journalists that when he was taken into custody, he was wearing clothing similar to what was seen on CCTV cameras at the scene of the shooting.
He added that investigators had interviewed a family member who said the suspect had become more political in recent years.
Cox said the family member had spoken of a recent incident when Robinson had mentioned that Kirk was coming to Utah and that he “was full of hate and spreading hate”.
Utah Governor’s OfficeCox said investigators had also spoken to a roommate of the suspect who had shown them messages with an account named “Tyler” on the messaging app Discord.
The messages referred to a need to retrieve a rifle from “a drop point” and the rifle being left in a bush, wrapped in a towel.
The FBI said on Thursday they had found the suspected weapon – an imported Mauser .30-06 bolt action rifle – wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near campus.
Cox told reporters that inscriptions had been found engraved on casings recovered with the rifle, which had a scope mounted on top of it.
The inscriptions included “hey fascist! CATCH!” and “O Bella ciao, Bella ciao”
Bella ciao means “goodbye beautiful” in Italian. It is also the title of a song dedicated to the Italian resistance who fought against the occupying troops of Nazi Germany.
The Utah governor said he was not aware of any potential further arrests in the investigation.
State prosecutors said they planned to file formal charges against Robinson on Tuesday.
He is accused of aggravated murder, obstruction of justice, and felony discharge of a firearm, according to a Utah County Sheriff inmate booking sheet, obtained by the BBC.
Students at Utah Valley University told the BBC they were relieved by the arrest.
The campus has been closed since the shooting on Wednesday afternoon – with yellow police tape and police vehicles blocking much of the school.
“He was apprehended in Washington County, which is where I’m from,” said first-year student McKinley Shinkle. “I just feel deeply ashamed.”
“I’m definitely relieved,” added McKinley’s cousin Anthony. “I’m just anxious now to hear his motives and why this happened.”
Public records reviewed by the BBC suggest Robinson had in the past registered as an unaffiliated, or nonpartisan, voter in Utah. Matthew Carl Robinson, the suspect’s father, and Amber Denise Robinson, the suspect’s mother, are registered Republicans, according to state records.
Voting records indicate that he did not vote in the last two presidential elections, according to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner. He was not old enough to vote in 2020.
The suspect lives in St George, Utah, near Zion National Park, about 250 miles (400km) south-west of the campus where Kirk was shot.
He is a third-year student in an electrical apprenticeship programme at Dixie Technical College in south-west Utah, where he lived, a spokesperson for Utah Valley University (UVU) tells the BBC.
Social media accounts indicate Robinson’s father runs a kitchen countertop and cabinet installation business, while his mother is a social worker. The family is Mormon and active in the local church.
Aljazeera:
Before we close, here’s a recap of the latest updates:
- Authorities have arrested a suspect in connection with the murder of Charlie Kirk, with Utah Governor Spencer Cox identifying the suspect as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.
- Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray is set to formally charge Robinson, a resident of southern Utah, on Tuesday.
- An earlier affidavit said Robinson had been arrested on suspicion of aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily harm, and obstruction of justice.
- Robinson’s exact motives remain unclear, but according to family members, he had become increasingly political and had specifically opposed Kirk’s views.
- Governor Cox described the shooting as a “political assassination” – pointing to messages engraved on bullet casings found at the scene of the shooting, including one that said, “Hey fascist! Catch!” – and called on people to “log off” social media.
- A neighbour said she was shocked that Robinson was a suspect, describing him as having a “mellow personality”, adding: “The kid was smart, quiet. He never caused problems.”
- Erika Kirk, left, with Vice President JD Vance, right, and Second Lady Usha Vance, centre, deplane in Arizona from Air Force Two, carrying the body of Charlie Kirk, on Thursday [Ross D Franklin/AP Photo]
- A makeshift memorial for Charlie Kirk, at the Hansen Mortuary Chapel in Phoenix, Arizona, September 12 [Thomas Machowicz/Reuters]
- A man holds a sign hailing Kirk as a ‘martyr’ during a vigil in London, the UK [File: Jack Taylor/Reuters]