Everything we know about Charlie Kirk murder suspect following his arrest

Tyler Robinson was arrested and identified by officials yesterday (September 12) as the suspect in police custody following the shooting of Charlie Kirk two days ago.

On September 10, Kirk was shot and killed while attending a college debate at Utah Valley University (UVU) as part of his comeback tour, 'The American Comeback Tour'.

After he was shot in the neck, Kirk's security team rushed him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead, and President Donald Trump later confirmed his passing in a Truth Social post.

Following the media personality's death, authorities appealed to the public for help in locating the suspected shooter, with pictures and CCTV footage being released by the FBI following the shooting.

After Trump claimed in an interview with Fox & Friends that a 'suspect was in custody', authorities later identified 22-year-old Robinson as the suspect in a press conference on Friday.

Who is Tyler Robinson?

Charlie Kirk was shot and killed on 10 September (The Salt Lake Tribune / Contributor / Getty)

According to the BBC, Robinson is a Utah native who had been living with his parents ‘for a long time’, as per the authorities.

NBC News further reports that Robinson is a third-year student in Dixie Technical College's electrical apprenticeship program, which the Utah Board of Education later confirmed.

While the 22-year-old was not a student at UVU, a spokesperson for the university said that he had previously attended, though only for one semester in 2021.

His grandmother spoke to The Daily Mail following her grandson's arrest, and described him as a quiet, studious young man who 'never' spoke about politics.

She said: "[Tyler] is the shyest person. He has never, ever spoke politics to me at all."

Meanwhile, public records accessed by the BBC suggested that Robinson's political affiliation in the past had been unaffiliated or nonpartisan, while his parents are registered Republicans.

How was Tyler Robinson caught?

In a press conference, Utah Governor Spencer Cox said that Robinson was taken into custody after a family member recognised him in the surveillance footage released by the FBI.

Cox went on to say that the said family member then contacted the Washington County Sheriff's Office, claiming that Robinson had 'confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident'.

Meanwhile, Trump claimed in his Fox interview that it had been Robinson's father who'd turned him in, adding that they then 'drove into the police headquarters, and he's there now'.

What has Robinson's family said?

Tyler Robinson was identified as the suspect in custody by authorities (PATRICK T. FALLON / Contributor / Getty)

In her interview with The Daily Mail, Robinson's grandmother said she thinks there is 'no way' her grandson could have been involved in Kirk's death, adding: "I don't think he ever shot a gun, to tell you the truth. He doesn't hunt; he's never liked anything like that. I know he doesn't own any guns.

"There's just no way he could have been that good of a shot."

She also called him a 'wonderful child' and said that 'there is no way that he could have done anything like that'.

However, according to authorities, other members of his family claimed Robinson had expressed his opposition to Kirk's views, with Cox claiming that he had become 'more political' in the time leading up to the shooting.

He cited a family dinner where Robinson allegedly 'talked about why they didn't like him and the viewpoints that he had', and claimed Kirk was 'full of hate and spreading hate'.

Messages and bullet casings

Robinson was described by his grandmother as a 'wonderful child' (Facebook)

Authorities said that Robinson's roommate shared Discord messages they'd received from a contact named 'Tyler', which talked of a ‘drop point’ and instructions about picking up and hiding the gun.

Cox said in the press conference: "He showed several messages and allowed investigators to take photos of the screen. These photos consisted of various messages, including content of messages between the phone contact of Tyler and Robinson's roommate's device.

"The content of these messages included messages affiliated with the contact Tyler, stated the need to retrieve the rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush, messages related to visually watching the area where a rifle was left and a message referring to having left the rifle wrapped in a towel."

However, Discord has since denied this, saying in a statement: "In the course of our investigation, we identified a Discord account associated with the suspect, but have found no evidence that the suspect planned this incident or promoted violence on Discord.

"The messages referenced in recent reporting about planning details do not appear to be Discord messages.

"These were communications between the suspect's roommate and a friend after the shooting, where the roommate was recounting the contents of a note the suspect had left elsewhere."

Meanwhile, bullet casings found by investigators reportedly had engravings on them which said things like 'Hey fascist! Catch!' and 'notices bulges OwO what's this'.

What will happen to Robinson next?

Authorities claim that family members had told them Robinson had expressed his opposition towards Kirk and his views (Instagram/@mrserikakirk)

What will happen next?

Officials have yet to provide a possible motive for the killing, and while Robinson is expected to be charged with aggravated murder, felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury and obstruction of justice, according to a probable cause affidavit, formal charges have not yet been issued.

However, if convicted, Robinson could face the death penalty. And Sky News reports that Utah officials have previously said they are planning to seek the death penalty.