Tyler Robinson named suspect in Charlie Kirk shooting: What to know about him and how he was apprehended
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.
However, after his father recognized him from photographs distributed by authorities, officials say, a series of events ultimately led to the 22-year-old Robinson being taken into custody.
While there are many unanswered questions about the killing, which officials have called a "political assassination," information from officials and those who know Robinson have begun to assemble a portrait of the alleged gunman.
Here's what we know about Robinson, how the shooting was carried out and how he was apprehended.
Governor says suspect is not cooperating
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, told ABC's "This Week" on Sunday morning that Robinson has not made any confessions and is not cooperating with authorities. But Cox added that "people around him are cooperating."
Charges, which are expected to include a capital murder count, are expected to be formally filed on Tuesday, Cox said.
Cox also was asked about a Sunday New York Times report that alleged Robinson had communicated with others on the online messaging platform Discord after the shooting. The New York Times reported that Robinson had made jokes about being the alleged gunman.
Cox replied that "those conversations definitely were happening."
Multiple law enforcement sources have told ABC News that authorities are reviewing a Discord group chat between several people joking about how the shooter looked like Robinson, as first reported by The New York Times.
Sources tell ABC News that one of the participants in the chat is believed to be Robinson, who allegedly made a comment in the group chat about the killer being his "doppelganger."
The newspaper says it obtained the messages from someone who knew Robinson in high school but who said he had not seen Robinson in person for several years.
ABC News has not independently obtained or reviewed the messages.
The governor also addressed reports that Robinson's roommate is transitioning from male to female.
How Robinson was apprehended
At a press conference on Friday morning, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox stated in his opening remarks, "Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We got him."
Cox said that after Robinson's father recognized his son in the distributed photographs, he told Robinson to turn himself in. Robinson initially said no but later changed his mind, officials said.
The father then called a youth pastor, who is also a U.S. Marshals task force officer. The officer advised the father to have Robinson stay in place. This information was then conveyed to the FBI.
Cox thanked Robinson's family, "who did the right thing."
During the press conference, Cox said that when law enforcement identified Robinson, they also interviewed Robinson's roommate, who showed them a message between Robinson and his roommate.
"The content of these messages included messages affiliated with the contact Tyler, stating a need to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush," Cox said.
The messages also referred to engraving bullets and a mention of a scope and the rifle being unique, authorities said.
The rifle is an older model imported Mauser .30-06 caliber bolt action rifle wrapped in a towel, multiple law enforcement sources told ABC News. The location of the firearm appears to match the suspect's route of travel, the sources said.
What writing on shell casings allegedly said
Cox also described what was engraved on the casings found on the scene.
According to Cox, of the three unfired casings, one read: "Hey fascist! CATCH!" with an arrow symbol pointing up, then to the right, and then three arrows pointing down.
Another unfired casing read "O Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Ciao, ciao!" seemingly in reference to Italian anti-fascist song popularized following World War II and another unfired casing read "If you read this, you are GAY Lmao."
The meanings of the writings on the casings are unclear. It is also unclear if the writings are meant to be a misdirection or distraction for investigators.
Apart from a reference to fascism, which Cox said "speaks for itself," he did not elaborate on the meanings of the other writings.
The motives of the suspect remain unclear.
FBI Director Kash Patel said that law enforcement caught Robinson within 33 hours of the shooting and were on scene when the shooting occurred within 16 minutes.
"This is a very much an ongoing investigation, as the governor said, 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 said.
What we know about Robinson
At the press conference, Cox said Robinson had become "more political in recent years."
Robinson mentioned during a dinner conversation with a family member that Kirk would be visiting Utah Valley University, according to Cox. Robinson and the family members discussed why they didn't like Kirk and his viewpoints, and the family member stated Kirk was "full of hate and spreading hate," Cox said.
Online voter registration records show that Robinson is registered to vote with no party affiliation.
He is listed as being an “inactive” voter, meaning he has not voted in two regular general elections and did not respond to a notice sent by the county clerk.
Both of Robinson's parents are registered as Republicans, the records show.
Social media posts: ACT scores, hunting
An Instagram page appearing to belong to Robinson’s father -- which officials are reviewing in connection with the investigation -- also includes multiple memes that are disparaging towards Democrats.
Additionally, the day after the 2024 election -- which President Trump won -- Robinson’s father posted a photo of a sunset with the caption: “A new dawn for America!”
An August 2020 post on a Facebook account appearing to belong to Tyler Robinson's mother which is being reviewed by law enforcement reads, "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 a scorecard for the ACT standardized test suggesting Robinson scored a 34 on the test, placing him in the 99th percentile nationwide.
Other social media suggests Robinson had experience hunting. A picture posted in 2017 on an Instagram account appearing to belong to Tyler Robinson's father, which law enforcement is reviewing, shows Tyler and what appears to be a younger brother posing next to a dead deer.“First black powder buck! Good job boys,” the post is captioned.
Officials said Robinson was not enrolled at Utah Valley University and lived in Washington County, Utah, with his family.
Robinson is currently enrolled at Dixie Technical College in Utah, a trade school where he was purportedly working toward becoming an electrician, according to two people who know Robinson but asked not to be identified.
One of the individuals told ABC News that Robinson was not in class on the day of the Kirk shooting.
Prior to Dixie, Robinson attended Pine View High School in St. George, graduating in 2021, according to an online graduation video reviewed by ABC News. He then attended Utah State University for one semester, in 2021, according to a spokesperson for the university.
A classmate who says they have known Robinson for years told ABC News they are "stunned" to hear Robinson may have carried out this attack, describing him as "friendly" but "a little more reserved," adding that they "never really heard him talk political."
The classmate added that they never observed Robinson expressing any outward "hate or malice towards other people."
"I never heard him talk politically," said the classmate, who emphasized that they were not close friends. "I never heard him talk about guns."
What Robinson neighbors said
Neighbors of Robinson's parents in Washington, Utah, described the Robinson family as loving and quiet.
Kristin Schwiermann, who lives near the Robinsons, said she was the head custodian at his former school, Riverside Elementary, along with being his childhood neighbor.
"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," she told ABC News, describing him as a "good kid."
She described the Robinsons as "very loving" parents, adding "They just seem like a very hard-working, down-to-earth family."
Alenea Shaw, another neighbor, recalled a time about 10 years ago when Robinson was eager to earn money and did odd jobs, like washing the car and cleaning up the yard. "He was just a cute little boy," she said.
She said the family was not very social and kept to themselves.
"They were just very quiet," she said.
As the search for the suspect in the shooting entered its third day, authorities had received more than 7,000 tips and leads and completed some 200 interviews, the governor said.
ABC News' Katherine Faulders, Megan Christie, Laura Romero, Mike Levine, Lucien Bruggeman, Chris Looft, Kerem Inal, Tonya Simpson and Pierre Thomas contributed to this report.
