What we know about Charlie Kirk shooting suspect Tyler Robinson
By Casey Tolan Isabelle Chapman Allison Gordon CNN Tyler Robinson the -year-old in custody as the suspect in the fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk registered to vote with no party affiliation and hadn t cast a ballot in the two bulk modern elections But a family member recounted investigators that Robinson had become more political in latest years Utah Governor Spencer Cox revealed at a press conference Friday morning and in particular had lashed out at Kirk the family member explained Officers who have described Kirk s killing as a political assassination discovered anti-fascist messages engraved on ammunition with a rifle near the site of the shooting that hint at that political transformation Cox declared Related Articles Here s how to help kids deal with current events and the sometimes violent imagery they bring Suspect in Charlie Kirk killing had become more political and likely acted alone officials say -year-old boy identified as Colorado high school shooter Utah governor pleads for populace s help in finding person who shot Charlie Kirk on university campus Charlie Kirk helped build patronage for Trump among young people Those messages included one that noted Hey fascist Catch and another that appeared to reference an Italian anti-fascist song Robinson grew up in Washington Utah and earned a scholarship to attend Utah State University after a strong academic record in high school but dropped out after just one semester according to residents records social media and a university message Voter registration records show that Robinson is registered to vote unaffiliated with any party although he is also listed as an inactive voter meaning he hadn t voted in at least the the greater part latest two general elections Social media photos show Robinson wearing grey Converse shoes and sunglasses that appear similar to those worn by the shooting suspect in photos disclosed by law enforcement earlier this week Cox stated at the press conference that a family member of Robinson had reached out to a family friend Thursday night and the family friend narrated the Washington County Sheriff s Office that Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he had committed the happening Robinson was taken into custody around p m Thursday night after a -hour manhunt FBI Director Kash Patel mentioned Friday Robinson s hometown is a quiet suburb of St George a city in the southwest corner of the state It s about a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Utah Valley University where Kirk was gunned down on Wednesday afternoon while holding a campus event Cox mentioned that a family member of Robinson had described investigators that at a current family dinner Robinson had mentioned Kirk s upcoming Utah Valley event and they talked about why they didn t like him and the viewpoints that he had Cox noted The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate The bolt-action rifle Robinson used and left in a wooded area near the campus had various phrases engraved on the bullet casings Cox explained including Oh bella ciao bella ciao bella ciao ciao ciao which appeared to reference an Italian anti-fascist song Other engravings hinted more at connections to online trolling and memes including one that revealed If you read this you are gay LMAO Robinson graduated from Pine View High School in St George in a spokesperson for the school substantiated He received a resident presidential scholarship to attend Utah State University according to a Facebook video his mother posted of him reading a letter about the award A spokesperson for the university announced in message Friday that Robinson briefly attended Utah State University for one semester in Kirk s American Comeback Tour had an event scheduled at Utah State University on September The-CNN-Wire Cable News Organization Inc a Warner Bros Discovery Company All rights reserved
