The man accused of fatally shooting conservative activist Charlie Kirk appears to have confessed to friends in a private online chat shortly before surrendering to law enforcement, The Washington Post reported Monday.
Kirk, 31, was fatally shot on Sept. 10 while addressing a group of students at Utah Valley University in the city of Orem, some 40 miles (64.4 kilometers) south of Salt Lake City. Tyler Robinson, 22, was arrested over the death of the right-wing influencer.
“Hey guys, I have bad news for you all,” said a message from an account belonging to Robinson on the online platform Discord.
“It was me at UVU yesterday. I’m sorry for all of this,” he wrote, according to the Post, which cited two people familiar with the chat.
According to the report, the message was sent Thursday night, about two hours before officials said Robinson was taken into custody.
The message was sent from Robinson’s account to a small private group of online friends, the person said on condition of anonymity.
Discord is working closely with the FBI and local authorities, providing information about Robinson’s online activities on the platform, the person added, according to the report.
The Discord conversation shared with the Post shows members of the group chat reacting to Kirk’s shooting Wednesday — before the news broke that Robinson was allegedly involved.
The group included about 30 people, according to the person who provided screenshots to the newspaper.
“Charlie Kirk got shot,” one friend wrote Wednesday afternoon, according to an image of the messages.
“I just saw the video holy s—,” another user wrote about an hour and a half later, adding about Kirk: “Bro didn’t deserve to go out like that sad.”
The only response from Robinson’s account came Thursday with the message announcing “bad news.”
“I’m surrendering through a sheriff friend in a few moments,” the message, posted at 7.57 pm local time in Utah, continued. “Thanks for all the good times and laughs, you’ve all been so amazing, thank you all for everything.”
FBI Director Kash Patel said Monday that DNA evidence collected from the scene of Kirk’s killing matches the suspect currently in custody.
Patel stressed that the FBI investigation remains ongoing, with agents continuing to interview witnesses and analyze forensic material, including cell phone data and DNA samples. Findings are being shared with local and federal prosecutors for charging decisions, he said.
Authorities have identified 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the suspect in Wednesday’s fatal shooting of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, 31, and say he is in custody, ending a nationwide manhunt following the assassination.
Robinson had “become more political in recent years,” Utah Governor Spencer Cox said during a Friday press conference. A family member told officials that Robinson came to dinner on September 10 and “mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to [Utah Valley University].”
Cox said to the public, “This is certainly about the tragic death and assassination, political assassination of Charlie Kirk. But it is also much bigger than an attack on an individual. It is an attack on all of us. It is an attack on the American experiment. It is an attack on our ideals.”
Cox confirmed that Robinson “was not a student here at UVU” and was “living and has been living for some time with his family in Washington County.”
Mugshot of Charlie Kirk shooting suspect Tyler Robinson, 22, released. Utah Governor’s Office
Since midday Wednesday, authorities had been searching for the shooter, who jumped from a roof and fled after firing at Kirk, according to the FBI. Prior to Robinson’s arrest, two people were briefly detained and then released on Wednesday. Officials received over 11,000 leads and tips on the matter, FBI Director Kash Patel said during a Friday press conference.
Why It Matters
Kirk was the co-founder and executive director of Turning Point USA, a prominent conservative campus organization. He was a frequent political commentator, often speaking on college campuses and hosting media programs and conferences, as well as a close ally of President Donald Trump.
The shooting comes amid a broader climate of political violence across the United States. In June, Minnesota Democratic state Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed in a targeted political act.
Lawmakers and prominent figures across the aisle have condemned the violence, including members of the Trump administration as well as Democrats. Trump has ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff “in honor of Charlie Kirk” until 6 p.m. Sunday. The fatal attack has raised concerns about campus public-safety protocols, political violence, gun control and free speech.
Charlie Kirk Alleged Shooter: What We Know
On Friday morning, authorities publicly identified Robinson, a Utah local, as the suspected shooter, noting that they took him into custody on Thursday night.
Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason had described the suspect on Thursday as someone who “blended in well with the college institution.”
Newsweek identified Robinson’s mother as Amber Jones Robinson. She has posted several photos of her family, including Tyler, on her personal Facebook page. According to her Facebook page, she attended the University of Utah and is a social worker.
A photo of Tyler Robinson posted on his mother, Amber Jones Robinson’s, Facebook page. Facebook/Amber Jones Robinson
She and Tyler visited Utah State University in 2021.
“It was great to get some one on one time with this boy,” she wrote on Facebook. “Plus Aggie ice cream! I didn’t know that was a thing, but it’s great!”
In 2019, she posted a family photo that included three children and her partner. The family owns a home in Washington, Utah, approximately three and a half hours from Utah Valley University.
A family photo of the Robinsons from 2019 posted on Amber Jones Robinson’s Facebook page. Facebook/ Amber Jones Robinson
Before Robinson’s arrest, authorities had confirmed early Thursday that the suspected shooter was no longer in the wooded area where he had appeared to flee after the shooting. Investigators also had found a high-powered, bolt-action rifle along the suspected escape route.
Trump first said Friday morning during a live interview on Fox & Friends that the individual was turned in by his father and that law enforcement officials would confirm the arrest later in the day.
The FBI’s Salt Lake City field office released photos of the suspect on Thursday and asked the public for help identifying him.
Authorities stated that the suspect allegedly arrived on campus just before noon on Wednesday. Robinson is the third person of interest to have been taken into custody in relation to the shooting. The other two were released shortly after being questioned on Wednesday.
Where Was Charlie Kirk Shot?
Kirk was shot through the neck during a student Q&A at Utah Valley University on Wednesday. Moments before Kirk was shot, he was answering a question about gun violence.
Following the shooting, he was transported to a local hospital and died. His body has been returned to his home state of Arizona and transported to a church ahead of a funeral service.
Several videos posted online show the event, including the moment the shot was fired and the subsequent bloodshed.
Charlie Kirk speaks before he is shot during Turning Point’s visit to Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. Tess Crowley/The Deseret News via AP
What Has Donald Trump Said About Charlie Kirk?
Trump, as well as other top admin officials, including Vice President JD Vance, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others, posted on social media to honor Kirk and his legacy.
The president publicly announced Kirk’s death on Truth Social, writing hours after the shooting: “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead. No one understood or had the Heart of the Youth in the United States of America better than Charlie. He was loved and admired by ALL, especially me, and now, he is no longer with us. Melania and my Sympathies go out to his beautiful wife Erika, and family. Charlie, we love you!”
In a statement Wednesday night, Trump called Kirk a “martyr for truth and freedom.” He later said that he “will soon be awarding Charlie Kirk, posthumously, the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
Vance posted a long message in honor of Kirk on Wednesday night, writing, “Charlie Kirk was a true friend. The kind of guy you could say something to and know it would always stay with him.”
His X post continued, “So much of the success we’ve had in this administration traces directly to Charlie’s ability to organize and convene. He didn’t just help us win in 2024, he helped us staff the entire government.”
The vice president and second lady Usha Vance traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, to pay respects to the family of Kirk and escort Kirk’s body to Arizona. The vice president helped carry Kirk’s casket onto Air Force Two for transport.
The Vances had originally planned to attend the annual 9/11 observance in New York City, but changed plans to go to Utah and escort Kirk’s casket.
What Happens Next
Robinson is held in custody in Utah. Memorial services for Kirk have not been announced yet. He is survived by his wife and two children.
The president said on Friday, “I hope he’s gonna be found guilty, I would imagine, and I hope he gets the death penalty for what he did.” After Kirk’s shooting, Utah’s governor reminded the public that the state enforces the death penalty.
OREM, Utah, Sept 12 (Reuters) – A young Utah man suspected of killing the influential conservative activist Charlie Kirk at a university in the city of Orem was in custody on Friday, Utah Governor Spencer Cox told reporters.
“We got him,” Cox told reporters.
The suspect, identified as Tyler Robinson, had confessed to a family friend – or “implied that he had committed the murder” to that friend – and that person in turn had contacted the Washington County sheriff’s office on Thursday.
A family member interviewed by investigators said Robinson had become more political recently and spoke in a disparaging manner about Kirk, Cox told reporters. Robinson was taken into custody on Thursday night, about 33 hours after Kirk’s murder, FBI Director Kash Patel said at the press conference.
Kirk, a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, was killed by a single bullet as he spoke onstage at an outdoor amphitheatre at Utah Valley University on Wednesday.
Previously, U.S. investigators said they had found the bolt-action rifle believed to have been used to kill Kirk and released images of a person of interest.
Tyler Robinson Mugshots.
Investigators spoke to Robinson’s roommate, who showed them comments Robinson had made on Discord, a chat and streaming platform popular with gamers, discussing retrieving a rifle from a drop point and then leaving the rifle in a bush wrapped in a towel. This matched the description of the gun that authorities recovered after the shooting in a wooded area near campus.
Ammunition found at the scene had been inscribed, Cox said. The messages on the casing included: “What’s this;” “Oh, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao, Ciao;” “If you read this, you are gay, LMAO;” and “Hey fascist, catch!,” Cox told reporters.
Kirk, a well-connected activist, author and podcast host, helped build support for Trump and the Republican Party among younger voters.
Kirk was the co-founder and president of the conservative student group Turning Point USA and appeared at Utah Valley on Wednesday as part of a planned 15-event “American Comeback Tour” of U.S. college campuses. His killing stirred outrage and denunciations of political violence from Democrats, Republicans and foreign governments.
