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"The suspect in custody in connection with Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting has been identified as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson of Utah, FBI and Utah officials announced Friday morning. 'We got him,' Utah Gov. Spencer Cox told reporters at the beginning of the press conference. On Thursday evening, Cox said, a family member of Robinson's called local authorities with information regarding Robinson's alleged involvement in the fatal shooting of Kirk on Sept. 10.
Around 10 p.m. local time on Thursday night, Robinson was taken into custody, FBI Director Kash Patel said. "The arrest is a testament to good law enforcement being great," he said.
The suspect is not a student at Utah Valley University, where Kirk was shot and killed, the governor confirmed. 'He was living, and had lived for a long time, with his family in Washington County,' Cox said. Earlier, Cox had thanked the Robinson family, 'who did the right thing in this case and were able to bring him into law enforcement as well.'
At this time, authorities believe Robinson acted alone, but said that the investigation is still ongoing.
Here's what else we know about what led to Robinson's arrest.
**The surveillance footage**
Investigators reviewed surveillance footage of Robinson arriving on the UVU campus in a gray Dodge Challenger around 8:29 a.m. local time on Sept. 10. He was observed on surveillance video wearing a plain maroon t-shirt, light colored shorts, a black hat with a white logo and light colored shoes, Cox said.
When investigators in Washington County encountered Robinson, he was wearing clothing consistent with the surveillance images.
**The family member interview**
Cox told reporters that a family member of Robinson's was interviewed by investigators who said the 22-year-old had become more political in recent years. They mentioned a recent encounter at a dinner Robinson attended prior to Sept. 10. During the conversation, the family member said Robinson mentioned that Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU. Robinson and another family member talked about Kirk's viewpoints, why they didn't like him and said Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate.
**Discord messages**
Investigators also interviewed someone who was identified as Robinson's roommate. Cox said the roommate showed investigators messages he and Robinson exchanged through Discord, which authorities took photos of.
Cox described the messages that the roommate received from a contact named 'Tyler,' which included references to needing to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush and watching the area where the rifle was left wrapped in a towel.
There were also messages from 'Tyler' that referred to engraving bullets, that the scope and rifle were unique, and that he had changed outfits.
**The weapon and bullet casings**
A rifle wrapped in a dark towel was found by officials on Thursday in a wooded area on the edge of Utah Valley University, officials said. The gun was a Mauser Model 98 bolt-action rifle, with a scope mounted on top of it.
There were also bullet casings discovered by investigators that had inscriptions engraved on them, Cox said. One of the casings that was fired read: “notices bulges OWO what’s this?”
There were three unfired casings with inscriptions on them that read:
'hey fascist! catch!' with an up arrow symbol, right arrow symbol, and three down arrow symbols.
'oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao'
'if you read this you are gay lmao'
**The arrest**
On Thursday, the FBI released the first images of an individual it described as a 'person of interest' in the fatal shooting of Kirk at UVU in Orem, Utah, as the manhunt for the suspect entered its first full day.
The FBI's Salt Lake City field office posted two photos to X on Thursday of an individual in a stairwell wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses and a dark long-sleeved shirt with an American flag logo.
'We are asking for the public's help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University,' the FBI said in its post, which includes contact information and a link to the bureau's tip line.
At a press conference earlier Thursday, Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said that investigators were able to track the alleged shooter's movements using footage from security cameras in the area.
DPS later clarified that the two photos of the suspect were pulled from campus security footage shortly before the shooting.
Mason said the suspect 'appears to be of college age' and 'blended in well' on campus. He would not say whether the suspect was a student at the school.
Mason said the individual arrived on campus shortly before the event started and went to the roof of a nearby building, where he fired a single shot that struck Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative influencer, activist and ally of President Trump who was speaking at an outdoor event there.
The suspect then jumped off the roof and fled on foot into an off-campus neighborhood. Authorities scoured the area and collected footage from residents with doorbell cameras.
On Thursday evening, the FBI released a video of the suspected shooter seen from the rooftop of a building after Wednesday's shooting.
At 10 p.m. local time in Utah on Thursday night, Robinson was taken into custody, FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Friday.
'In less than 36 hours – 33 to be precise – thanks to the full weight of the federal government and leading out with the partners here in the state of Utah and Gov. Cox, the suspect was apprehended in a historic time period,' Patel said Friday morning. 'Forensic evidence has already been evaluated' by the FBI, with over 11,000 possible leads being checked, Patel said.'"
Around 10 p.m. local time on Thursday night, Robinson was taken into custody, FBI Director Kash Patel said. "The arrest is a testament to good law enforcement being great," he said.
The suspect is not a student at Utah Valley University, where Kirk was shot and killed, the governor confirmed. 'He was living, and had lived for a long time, with his family in Washington County,' Cox said. Earlier, Cox had thanked the Robinson family, 'who did the right thing in this case and were able to bring him into law enforcement as well.'
At this time, authorities believe Robinson acted alone, but said that the investigation is still ongoing.
Here's what else we know about what led to Robinson's arrest.
**The surveillance footage**
Investigators reviewed surveillance footage of Robinson arriving on the UVU campus in a gray Dodge Challenger around 8:29 a.m. local time on Sept. 10. He was observed on surveillance video wearing a plain maroon t-shirt, light colored shorts, a black hat with a white logo and light colored shoes, Cox said.
When investigators in Washington County encountered Robinson, he was wearing clothing consistent with the surveillance images.
**The family member interview**
Cox told reporters that a family member of Robinson's was interviewed by investigators who said the 22-year-old had become more political in recent years. They mentioned a recent encounter at a dinner Robinson attended prior to Sept. 10. During the conversation, the family member said Robinson mentioned that Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU. Robinson and another family member talked about Kirk's viewpoints, why they didn't like him and said Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate.
**Discord messages**
Investigators also interviewed someone who was identified as Robinson's roommate. Cox said the roommate showed investigators messages he and Robinson exchanged through Discord, which authorities took photos of.
Cox described the messages that the roommate received from a contact named 'Tyler,' which included references to needing to retrieve a rifle from a drop point, leaving the rifle in a bush and watching the area where the rifle was left wrapped in a towel.
There were also messages from 'Tyler' that referred to engraving bullets, that the scope and rifle were unique, and that he had changed outfits.
**The weapon and bullet casings**
A rifle wrapped in a dark towel was found by officials on Thursday in a wooded area on the edge of Utah Valley University, officials said. The gun was a Mauser Model 98 bolt-action rifle, with a scope mounted on top of it.
There were also bullet casings discovered by investigators that had inscriptions engraved on them, Cox said. One of the casings that was fired read: “notices bulges OWO what’s this?”
There were three unfired casings with inscriptions on them that read:
'hey fascist! catch!' with an up arrow symbol, right arrow symbol, and three down arrow symbols.
'oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao'
'if you read this you are gay lmao'
**The arrest**
On Thursday, the FBI released the first images of an individual it described as a 'person of interest' in the fatal shooting of Kirk at UVU in Orem, Utah, as the manhunt for the suspect entered its first full day.
The FBI's Salt Lake City field office posted two photos to X on Thursday of an individual in a stairwell wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses and a dark long-sleeved shirt with an American flag logo.
'We are asking for the public's help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University,' the FBI said in its post, which includes contact information and a link to the bureau's tip line.
At a press conference earlier Thursday, Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said that investigators were able to track the alleged shooter's movements using footage from security cameras in the area.
DPS later clarified that the two photos of the suspect were pulled from campus security footage shortly before the shooting.
Mason said the suspect 'appears to be of college age' and 'blended in well' on campus. He would not say whether the suspect was a student at the school.
Mason said the individual arrived on campus shortly before the event started and went to the roof of a nearby building, where he fired a single shot that struck Kirk, a 31-year-old conservative influencer, activist and ally of President Trump who was speaking at an outdoor event there.
The suspect then jumped off the roof and fled on foot into an off-campus neighborhood. Authorities scoured the area and collected footage from residents with doorbell cameras.
On Thursday evening, the FBI released a video of the suspected shooter seen from the rooftop of a building after Wednesday's shooting.
At 10 p.m. local time in Utah on Thursday night, Robinson was taken into custody, FBI Director Kash Patel announced on Friday.
'In less than 36 hours – 33 to be precise – thanks to the full weight of the federal government and leading out with the partners here in the state of Utah and Gov. Cox, the suspect was apprehended in a historic time period,' Patel said Friday morning. 'Forensic evidence has already been evaluated' by the FBI, with over 11,000 possible leads being checked, Patel said.'"
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