Booking photo of Tyler Robinson
Courtesy: Utah Governor’s Office
Officials on Friday identified the suspected shooter of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk as Tyler Robinson, a 22-year-old Utah man, following his arrest overnight.
Robinson has been booked at Utah County Jail, Gov. Spencer Cox announced at a news conference.
The announcement came after President Donald Trump revealed earlier Friday morning on Fox News that Kirk’s suspected killer was in custody.
Booking photo of Tyler Robinson released by Utah Governor’s Office .
Courtesy: Utah Governor’s Office
Kirk was fatally shot on Wednesday during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University.
The president said on Fox of Kirk’s killer, “I hope he gets the death penalty.”
Cox said at the press event that a friend of Robinson’s family told the sheriff’s office in Utah’s Washington County on Thursday evening that Robinson had either confessed or “implied that had committed this incident.”
When investigators encountered Robinson in person early Friday morning, he was wearing clothing consistent with what UVU surveillance footage showed when it captured him driving onto campus before the shooting, the governor said.
The FBI on Thursday released two grainy photos of a “person of interest” and video footage showing a person jumping off the rooftop from where Kirk was shot and fleeing.
A combination photo shows a person of interest in the fatal shooting of U.S. right-wing activist and commentator Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University, in Orem, Utah, U.S., in security footage released by the Utah Department of Public Safety on September 11, 2025.
Utah Department Of Public Safety | Via Reuters
Kirk, 31, was the founder of conservative group Turning Point USA, which focuses its political activism on high schools and colleges. He was at UVU in Orem for the first stop on Turning Point’s “American Comeback Tour,” according to the group’s website.
Kirk was in the middle of answering an audience member’s question, which was about mass shootings, when a gunman shot him once in the neck, sending thousands of people running and screaming for safety.
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