Suspect arrested in Charlie Kirk killing confessed to father, officials say

A suspect has been arrested in the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah, officials said Friday morning. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said the suspect had been identified as Tyler Robinson, 22.

An inmate booking sheet from the Utah County Sheriff obtained by CBS News shows that Robinson is being held on charges of aggravated murder, obstruction of justice and felony discharge of a firearm. Formal charges are expected to be filed on Tuesday, the Utah County Attorney's Office said.

Robinson resides in southern Utah and confessed to his father, Cox said.

Two federal law enforcement sources told CBS News that Robinson's father saw the photos released by authorities and confronted his son. Robinson admitted to being the person in the photos and his father encouraged him to turn himself in, the sources said. Robinson responded to his father, saying he would rather die by suicide than turn himself in, prompting his father to call a youth pastor close to the family, the sources said. The pastor and Robinson's father tried to calm him, according to the sources.

The pastor, who is also a court security officer, also called the U.S. Marshals Service, which arrived and detained Robinson, the sources said.

The sources said the Marshals called the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who took Robinson into custody. Robinson was taken into custody late Thursday night, FBI Director Kash Patel said Friday.

Cox said he believed Robinson acted alone, and that there is no information at this time "that would lead to any additional arrests."

Cox thanked the family members of the suspected shooter, who he said "did the right thing" in bringing him to law enforcement.

President Trump was the first to announce the suspect was in custody during an appearance on "Fox and Friends" on Friday morning.

Cox said a family member told investigators that Robinson had become more political in recent years, and referenced an incident where Robinson had come to dinner and mentioned Kirk's upcoming appearance.

State records show that Robinson registered to vote as unaffiliated. His registration status is listed as inactive, which means he did not vote in 2024 or 2022.

Robinson is a third-year student in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College in Utah, the Utah Board of Higher Education said in a statement. He also attended Utah State University for one semester in 2021.

The 22-year-old is the oldest of three brothers. His father owns a business installing kitchen countertops and cabinets and his mother is a licensed social worker, according to public records and their social media accounts.

CBS News obtained video Friday of FBI personnel searching the home of Robinson's parents.

Kirk, who was 31, was engaging in one of his signature "Prove Me Wrong" debates at Utah Valley University when he was shot and killed on Wednesday afternoon. The event was part of Turning Point USA's "The American Comeback Tour," and there were over 3,000 people in attendance when Kirk was shot, police said.

Kirk's next event had been set for Utah State University. The university confirmed that Robinson had attended the school as a pre-engineering major for one semester in 2021 before taking a leave of absence.

Kirk had just begun to debate someone in the audience about gun violence when he was shot, witnesses said. Just one shot was fired, Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said on Wednesday night. Kirk was struck in the neck.

A university spokeswoman said the single shot is believed to have been fired from the Losee Center for Student Success, which houses a number of services and resources. A law enforcement source told CBS News the gunman appeared to have fired from the building's roof.

After the shooting, the shooter jumped off the building and fled into a neighborhood off campus, Mason said. Photos released by law enforcement showed a person wearing a dark baseball cap, black glasses, a long-sleeved dark shirt that appeared to feature an American flag and an eagle, and dark-colored pants.

Investigators recovered a high-powered, bolt-action rifle that they believe was used in the assassination, Robert Bohls, the FBI special agent in charge of the bureau's Salt Lake City field office, said Thursday. The gun was found wrapped in a dark towel in a wooded area where the shooter fled, Bohls said.

Cox also said investigators reviewed messages on the messaging platform Discord from a person named "Tyler" that referenced a rifle wrapped in a towel that was left in the woods and engravings on bullets. A Discord spokesperson confirmed the platform had identified an account associated with Robinson, but said it has "found no evidence that the suspect planned this incident or promoted violence on Discord." The spokesperson said the messages Cox referenced do not appear to have been sent on the platform, and described them as "communications between the suspect's roommate and a friend after the shooting, where the roommate was recounting the contents of a note the suspect had left elsewhere."

Cox said that there were inscriptions on the casings of the fired bullet and three unfired ones. The fired bullet casing contained the inscription, "Notices bulges OwO what's this?" An unfired bullet casing read, "Hey fascist, catch!" And a second unfired casing read, "oh bella ciao, bella cio, bella ciao, ciao, ciao." A third unfired casing said, "If you read this, you are gay."

Cox declined to speculate on the meaning of the inscriptions.

"I will leave that up to you to interpret what those engravings mean," Cox said. He added that the "Hey fascist, catch!" inscription "speaks for itself."

The arrest comes after two people were briefly taken into custody, then released, on Wednesday. Neither individual had ties to the shooting, the Utah Department of Public Safety said on Wednesday night. The second person taken into custody was charged with obstruction of justice, the department said.

Kirk was a close ally of Mr. Trump and a friend of Donald Trump Jr.

The president, who ordered flags be flown at half-staff until Sunday evening, announced plans to honor Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, calling him "a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty, and an inspiration to millions and millions of people." He also released a video statement blaming the "radical left" for the killing. Politicians and figures on both sides of the aisle have condemned Kirk's killing.

Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika, and their two young children. Vice President JD Vance accompanied Kirk's casket as it was transported Thursday aboard Air Force Two to Arizona, where the family lives.

Andres Gutierrez, Rhona Tarrant and Laura Geller contributed to this report.