A young Utah man, Tyler Robinson, 22, has been taken into custody after being suspected of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a university forum on Wednesday. The murder has sparked comparisons to the assassinations of the 1960s and is being investigated as a politically motivated act. Surveillance footage, social media posts, and a relative’s confession all contributed to investigators linking Robinson to the crime.
Utah Governor Spencer Cox expressed relief after an intense manhunt by local and federal law enforcement that followed Kirk’s murder on Wednesday. The suspect was taken into custody on Thursday night, about 33 hours after the shooting. FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency had received over 11,000 tips as of Friday morning, making it one of the largest number of tips since the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
Kirk, 31, was a close ally of US President Donald Trump and helped build Republican support among young voters in 2024. He was killed by a single gunshot fired from a rooftop during an outdoor campus event attended by 3,000 people. A bolt-action rifle believed to be the murder weapon was later found nearby.
The killing has stirred outrage among Kirk’s supporters and denunciations of political violence from Democrats, Republicans, and foreign governments. Governor Cox called Kirk’s murder a “watershed in American history” and compared it to the assassinations of the 1960s.
Erika Kirk, Charlie’s wife, vowed in a tearful but defiant livestreamed message that “the movement built by my husband will not die.” She thanked law enforcement for capturing her husband’s assassin. The United States has been experiencing its most sustained period of political violence in decades, with over 300 cases of politically motivated violent acts documented since the US Capitol attack on January 6, 2021.
The suspect had no known criminal history and was a registered voter but not affiliated with a political party. He was a third-year student in an electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College. Investigators found inscriptions on ammunition recovered from the scene that included the message “Here fascist! CATCH.”
Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/suspect-charlie-kirk-murder-custody-after-33-hour-manhunt-2025-09-12