The manhunt for the shooter who killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk ended Friday with a suspect taken into custody, authorities said.
Utah’s Department of Public Safety and the FBI confirmed the arrest during a morning briefing, capping a two-day search that began after the 31-year-old podcaster and Turning Point USA cofounder was fatally shot at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
Authorities identified the suspect as 22-year-old Tyler Robinson of Washington, Utah, after receiving a tip from a friend of Robinson’s family. Officials said the tip came late Thursday night, prompting agents to move quickly to locate and arrest him. A $100,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of the shooter was announced Thursday.
President Donald Trump first announced the arrest in a live interview on Fox News, claiming, “With a high degree of certainty, we have him.”
At a press briefing Friday, Utah governor Spencer Cox announced Robinson had been arrested in the early hours of September 12 after a family member reached out to a family friend, who contacted authorities. The friend told investigators that Robinson had hinted at his involvement in the shooting. The tip was relayed through local law enforcement to the FBI and Utah county investigators, who matched Robinson’s gray Dodge Challenger and clothing to campus surveillance footage from the day of the shooting. A family member also told investigators that Robinson spoke critically of Kirk.
Cox said Robinson’s roommate also cooperated, showing investigators Discord messages in which Robinson discussed retrieving and hiding a rifle, leaving it wrapped in a towel, monitoring the drop site, and engraving bullets.
FBI director Kash Patel outlined the bureau’s role in the investigation, stressing the speed of the response and coordination with Utah authorities. He said agents arrived on scene within 16 minutes of the shooting, secured the area alongside local police, and quickly began moving evidence to FBI labs in Quantico for analysis. “The FBI and our partners are proud to stand here today together to bring justice to the family of Charlie Kirk and honor his memory,” he said.
Beyond the Discord account identified by Cox, Robinson appears to have had virtually no online footprint that could be immediately identified in public or private databases. Internet users produced images they claimed came from family photo albums posted online, but the accounts of his immediate family members were shut down quickly and these images couldn’t be verified; none pointed to any obvious motive or ideology.
In a statement, Utah State University confirmed that Robinson briefly attended the school for one semester in 2021.
Investigators recovered a Mauser .30-caliber hunting rifle near the scene of the shooting, allegedly abandoned by the gunman as he fled into a wooded area. A spent round was found in the chamber, with three live cartridges in the magazine. Cox said Friday that the casings bore engraved inscriptions, ranging from political slogans to cultural references and crude jokes.
Authorities say the shooter fired from a rooftop overlooking a courtyard where Kirk was hosting a trademark “prove me wrong” campus debate. Widely shared footage online shows Kirk addressing a question on mass shootings when a bullet suddenly strikes him in the neck.
