The manhunt for the shooter who killed conservative activist Charlie Kirk ended Friday with the suspect in custody, authorities said.
The Utah Department of Public Safety and the FBI confirmed the arrest during a morning briefing, capping a two-day manhunt that began after the 31-year-old podcaster and cofounder of Milestone USA 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 in late Thursday night, prompting agents to move quickly to find and arrest him. A $100,000 reward was announced Thursday for information leading to the shooter’s identification and arrest.
President Donald Trump first announced the news live on Fox News, claiming, “With a high degree of certainty, we have him.”
At a news briefing Friday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said Robinson was arrested in the early hours of Sept. 12 after a family member contacted a family friend, who contacted authorities. The friend told investigators that Robinson had pointed him out to the shooting. The tip was passed through local law enforcement to 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 obtaining and hiding the rifle, leaving it wrapped in a towel, monitoring the scene of the fall and engraving bullets.
FBI Director Kash Patel outlined the bureau’s role in the investigation, emphasizing the speed of response and coordination with Utah authorities. He said agents arrived on the 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 together today to bring justice to Charlie Kirk’s family and honor his memory,” he said.
Aside from 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 were from family photo albums posted online, but the accounts of his immediate family members were quickly taken down and the images could not be verified; none suggest an 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 shooting scene, believed to have been abandoned by the gunman as he fled into the wooded area. A spent round was found in the chamber, along with a magazine containing three live cartridges. Cox said Friday that the casings were engraved with 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 holding his trademark “Prove Me Might” university debate. Footage widely shared online shows Kirk addressing the issue of mass shootings when a bullet suddenly strikes him in the neck.
