Everything We Know About Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting

Charlie Kirk, the right-wing activist, CEO of Turning Point USA, and controversial media personality, is dead at 31 after getting shot while speaking at a university on September 10. President Donald Trump shared the news on Truth Social, writing, “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.” The conservative news outlet Real America’s Voice, which airs The Charlie Kirk Show, reported that Kirk was assassinated. Officials have identified 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the suspected shooter and shared information about his alleged weapon and inscriptions on unfired casings.

What do we know about the suspect?

“We got him,” Utah governor Spencer Cox announced during a Friday press conference with the FBI identifying 22-year-old Tyler Robinson as the suspected shooter. “On the evening of September 11, a family member of Tyler Robinson reached out to a family friend, who contacted the Washington County Sheriff’s Office with information that Robinson had confessed to them or implied that he had committed the incident,” Cox said. One of Robinson’s family members told investigators that he had become “more political in recent years,” pointing to a dinner during which Robinson and another family member mentioned that Kirk would be visiting UVU and discussed “why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had.” Robinson’s mugshot was published online following the press conference.

Trump was the first to announce the arrest during a Friday-morning appearance on Fox & Friends that an arrest has been made in connection to the shooting. “I think with a high degree of certainty, we have him,” the president said, though he later added that he is “subject to be corrected.” Four sources familiar with the matter confirmed to CNN that the person in custody was still being questioned as of Friday morning. Trump seemed to suggest that the suspected shooter, who has yet to be publicly identified, was turned in by his father.

On Thursday evening, authorities released photos and video of a person of interest and asked for the public’s help with identification. “We cannot do our job without the public’s help right now,” Utah governor Spencer Cox said at a press conference, asking for tips to locate “this evil human.” Utah Department of Public Safety commissioner Beau Mason said at a Thursday-morning press conference that the suspect appeared to be of college age, adding that officials had “good video footage” of the person who arrived on campus at 11:52 a.m. and headed to a nearby neighborhood after firing the fatal shot from a roof. Authorities searched the neighborhood, contacting witnesses, and examining doorbell-camera footage to find the shooter.

FBI director Kash Patel previously posted on X on September 10 that a suspect was in custody. The FBI has since confirmed that George Zinn was initially taken in as a suspect but was later released and charged with obstruction by UVU police. The agency took a second suspect, Zachariah Qureshi, into custody but released him after interrogation with law enforcement. “There are no current ties to the shooting with either of these individuals,” the FBI said in a statement. “There is an ongoing investigation and manhunt for the shooter.”

What do we know about the weapon and the bullet casings?

The gun used was a Mauser .30-06 caliber bolt-action rifle that was found wrapped in a towel in a “grassy area” with a scope mounted on it, Utah governor Spencer Cox said. He added that investigators found bullet casings with inscriptions on them, including one that referenced the “notices bulge” meme. Other messages allegedly included, “Hey fascist! Catch!” “O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao ciao ciao” (lyrics to a resistance anthem dedicated to Italian partisans fighting fascism during World War II), a series of arrow symbols that may be a reference to a sequence of inputs used to drop a bomb in the video game Helldivers 2, and finally, “if you read this you are gay lmao.”

How did the shooting happen?

Kirk was shot during a student Q&A at Utah Valley University. “A single shot was fired on campus toward a visiting speaker,” UVU confirmed in an emergency alert sent to students. The campuswide message added that police are investigating and a suspect is in custody, but the police later determined it was not the shooter, according to the university. Kirk was hosting a debate in the courtyard of the university, per the the UVU Review. Prior to his arrival, a petition was signed by nearly 900 students at the school requesting that Kirk not be allowed on the campus.

In multiple gruesome videos of the shooting that have gone viral on TikTok and X, he is seen taking questions from the audience while under a tent. “Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America in the last ten years?” a person asks. Kirk replies “Counting or not counting gang violence?” before getting hit. The shooter is believed to have fired from a campus building about 200 yards away from Kirk, a university spokesperson told CNN.

How did the university react?

All classes were canceled on the day of the shooting. UVU sent an alert advising those who remain on campus to “secure in place until police officers can escort you safely off campus.” The campus will remain closed until September 15, UVU said.

How have political figures responded?

Trump will posthumously award Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, he announced at a September 11 remembrance event at the Pentagon. The president was among multiple conservative politicians who shared support for Kirk immediately following the shooting. “We must all pray for Charlie Kirk, who has been shot,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “A great guy from top to bottom. GOD BLESS HIM!” Vice-President J.D. Vance wrote on X, “Say a prayer for Charlie Kirk, a genuinely good guy and a young father,” while FBI director Kash Patel added, “We are closely monitoring reports of the tragic shooting involving Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.” Utah senator Mike Lee tweeted, “I am tracking the situation at Utah Valley University closely. Please join me in praying for Charlie Kirk and the students gathered there.”

Former presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden, George W. Bush, and Bill Clinton all expressed condolences for Kirk’s family. “We don’t yet know what motivated the person who shot and killed Charlie Kirk, but this kind of despicable violence has no place in our democracy,” Obama wrote on X. “Michelle and I will be praying for Charlie’s family tonight, especially his wife Erika and their two young children.” Biden said he and his wife “Jill and I are praying for Charlie Kirk’s family and loved ones.” Clinton said he hopes “we all go through some serious introspection and redouble our efforts to engage in debate passionately, yet peacefully. Hillary and I are keeping Erika, their two young children, and their family in our prayers.” Bush issued a statement on Instagram urging that “Violence and vitriol must be purged from the public square.”

There has been a bipartisan condemnation of the incident with several Democratic figures initially expressing hope for Kirk’s recovery. “The horrific shooting today at Utah Valley University is reprehensible. Political violence has absolutely no place in our nation,” Nancy Pelosi tweeted. “All Americans should pray for Charlie Kirk’s recovery and hold the entire UVU community in our hearts as they endure the trauma of this gun violence.” Leftist streamer Hasan Piker, who was scheduled to debate Charlie Kirk in two weeks, urged his audience not to joke about the shooting as he reacted to the news of Kirk’s death on his Twitch stream. “The reverberation of people seeking out vengeance in the aftermath of this violent, abhorrent incident is going to be genuinely worrisome,” Piker said.

Utah governor Spencer Cox has been briefed by law enforcement on the shooting, he confirmed in a tweet. He vowed that anyone responsible will be “held fully accountable.”

This is a developing story.