FBI apprehend Charlie Kirk's suspected killer
Tyler Robinson, 22, admitted his involvement in the shooting to a family friend.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced the apprehension of Charlie Kirk’s suspected killer Friday, stating on Fox News, "With a high degree of certainty, we have him."
Tyler Robinson, 22, confessed his involvement in the shooting to a family friend. Evidence includes bullet engravings and chat messages shared by his roommate.
Robinson, described by a family member as "full of hate" and increasingly political, disliked Kirk, a sentiment expressed at a dinner before the shooting where Kirk's university visit was discussed. He comes from a Republican household, with his father in law enforcement.
During a media scrum, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox urged Americans to "choose a different path" to prevent further violence.
BREAKING: President Trump announced on Fox News that the suspect accused of killing Charlie Kirk has been taken into custody. pic.twitter.com/HoqfhdwLbh
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) September 12, 2025
Police say Kirk, co-founder of Turning Point USA, was killed by a single shot in a targeted attack, deemed a “political assassination” by Utah's governor.
A high-powered rifle was recovered near the shooting scene; the shooter reportedly jumped off a roof and fled into nearby woods.
Cox reported that shell casings bore various messages: "Hey fascist! Catch!", "Oh bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao" (a WWII antifascist anthem reference), and "If you’re reading this, you’re gay LMAO." A fired casing read, “Notices bulges OwO What’s This?”, referencing internet memes and online trolling.
Kirk was shot at a Turning Point debate at Utah Valley University and pronounced dead hours later at a local hospital.
“He wanted to help young people, and he didn’t deserve this,” Trump said Friday. “He was really a good person.”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox says he believes Charlie Kirk's murderer acted alone but that the investigation is ongoing. pic.twitter.com/1nBelqotaU
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) September 12, 2025
Over 7,000 leads and tips have been received, but a motive for the killing, the latest act of political violence in the U.S., remains unknown.
Grisly videos of the attack on Kirk spread on social media.
Kirk, a key figure among young Republican voters, was speaking into a microphone when a shot was fired. He grasps his neck as blood erupts, and shocked spectators flee.
Authorities reported the shooter, who appeared college-aged and blended in, fired one shot from the rooftop. Video showed the person then walked through grass and across the street before vanishing.
“I can tell you this was a targeted event,” said Robert Bohls, the top FBI agent in Salt Lake City.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox discusses the 'anti-fascist' messaging discovered on the alleged weapon used by the suspect in Charlie Kirk's assassination. pic.twitter.com/TN4wE9brLs
— Rebel News (@RebelNewsOnline) September 12, 2025
Trump, joined by Democrats in condemning the violence, announced he would award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, posthumously.
Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, visited Kirk's family Thursday in Salt Lake City. Vance posted an X remembrance detailing their friendship from 2017 through his Senate run and the 2024 election.
“So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene,” Vance wrote. “He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.”
Kirk’s casket was flown from Utah to Phoenix on Air Force Two. Trump will attend the funeral; details are pending.
Alex Dhaliwal
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Alex Dhaliwal is a Political Science graduate from the University of Calgary. He has actively written on relevant Canadian issues with several prominent interviews under his belt.
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COMMENTS
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Bruce Atchison commented 2025-09-12 21:26:35 -0400Justice MUST be done. I’m tired of lax judges letting murderers go. I’m sure others are also fed up with that hug-a-thug nonsense. It’s time to make punishment a deterrent to reoffending. And repeat offenders must be punished exponentially. Also make prisoners work and to blazes with the unions.
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Crude Sausage commented 2025-09-12 14:14:11 -0400If things ran the way I would like them to, they would use the same kind of torture on Tyler that they did on traitors in the Middle Ages. At worst, I’d want him to be hanged in the public square and his corpse be used as a warning to other leftists who have become emboldened by the fact that we don’t usually fight back. I would also encourage those in our camp to become more assertive, and stop taking it on the chin.
