Tyler Robinson’s Descent From Promising Student to Murder Suspect
The 22-year-old suspect in the killing of Charlie Kirk spent much of his time online and had become increasingly political, according to relatives. ‘I have no idea why he did this.’
WASHINGTON, Utah—Tyler Robinson was the pride of his Utah family. He was a 4.0 high-school student who won a prestigious college scholarship, according to social-media posts.
“His options are endless,” his mother wrote on Facebook.
Four years later, authorities say the 22-year-old Robinson used an old bolt-action rifle to fire
a single shot that killed Charlie Kirk while the conservative activist spoke Wednesday at Utah Valley University. He allegedly had ammunition etched with phrases borrowed from internet and gaming culture like “Hey, fascist! Catch!” and “If you read this, you are gay, lmao.”
Authorities, friends and even his own family were trying to understand how Robinson went from a top student raised by parents who were registered Republicans in a Mormon stronghold in southwest Utah to a suspected assassin who authorities said targeted one of the country’s most popular conservative youth leaders. Robinson was in the past registered as nonpartisan.
Clinton Robinson, Tyler’s uncle, said that after authorities released surveillance photos of the shooting suspect, he showed an image to Tyler’s father, Matt Robinson. “I thought it looked like Tyler,” Clinton Robinson said in a text exchange Friday morning with a Wall Street Journal reporter. “Sounds like it was. My day just went to s—.”
“I have no idea why he did this,” he wrote.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox said one of Tyler Robinson’s family members told investigators Tyler had become more political in recent years. The family member said at a recent dinner, Robinson and a second relative discussed Kirk’s coming outdoor event on the Utah Valley campus in Orem.
Tyler Robinson had a scholarship to attend Utah State University. His mother in 2021 posted an image on social media of Tyler in his dorm room.
“They talked about why they didn’t like him and the viewpoints that he had,” Cox, a Republican, said at a news briefing Friday.
Cox said after the shooting, a relative contacted a family friend who told a sheriff’s office that Robinson had confessed to the killing or implied he had done it. Law-enforcement officials said the suspect’s father was involved in taking him into custody in Washington County, Utah. The governor thanked Robinson’s family for “doing the right thing.”
Robinson was from the small city of Washington, nestled in southwest Utah between red-rock canyons and snow-capped mountains. Striking national parks like Zion and Bryce Canyon aren’t far.
Like many boys in this area, Robinson grew up hunting and was well-versed in the use of firearms, according to law-enforcement officials. Photos shared on social media show the family shooting rifles.
State records show his parents own a custom-countertop business, and his mother is a licensed clinical social worker. The family lives on a suburban street that a neighbor described as quiet with many households attending the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Robinson, who has two brothers, was a stellar student, according to his mother’s posts on her Facebook account. He had a perfect GPA and scored a 34 out of a possible 36 on his ACT.
“Just a sweet, respectful, skinny teenager,” according to another neighbor, Kristin Schwiermann.
Robinson’s mother hoped he would stay close for college, and in the fall of 2021, she posted pictures of him in his dorm room at Utah State, a 5-hour drive north of the family home in Washington. He arrived with a scholarship worth $32,000 over four years.
But he wasn’t there long. Utah State said he attended the school for just one semester. More recently he has been enrolled in the electrical apprenticeship program at Dixie Technical College, where he is a third-year student, according to the Utah Board of Higher Education.
One thing is apparent about Robinson: He lived much of life on the internet. By age 15, he had developed enough of an online presence that he dressed up as “some guy from a meme” for Halloween, according to his mother. Writings on the bullet casings found by police appeared to reference various memes and online culture.
The scene Wednesday at a Utah Valley University courtyard where conservative activist Charlie Kirk had been fatally shot. Photo: cheney orr/Reuters
One unfired casing was inscribed with lyrics from “Bella Ciao,” an Italian song dedicated to those who fought against fascism during World War II that has been revived on TikTok.
“It’s very clear to us and to the investigators that this was a person who was deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology,” Cox said in an interview with the Journal.
Online, however, X users have noted that a version of the song also appears on a Spotify playlist for Groypers, the name for followers of Nick Fuentes, a white nationalist personality who has criticized Kirk, including for his support of Israel. Fuentes has publicly condemned the shooting of Kirk and posted on X that “my followers and I are currently being framed” for Kirk’s killing “based on literally zero evidence.”
Kirk, 31, played a prominent role in President Trump’s outreach to young voters during the 2024 election. A popular podcast host, he spoke on college campuses nationwide and became well-known for sparring with students in public settings. Videos of his debates with liberal-minded students drew millions of views online.
At Utah Valley University on Wednesday, Kirk was answering a question about mass shootings before a huge audience when he was struck in the neck by a single bullet fired by a shooter believed to be perched on a building some 200 yards away.
Students began running and screaming. Just before 12:30 p.m., authorities started to receive a flood of calls, according to public-safety radio transmissions reviewed by the Journal. “Be advised,” said one, “UVU in Orem has had an active shooter at the Charlie Kirk event.”
Robinson has been booked into the Utah County Jail. Trump said Friday that he would like to see the suspect in custody get the death penalty if found guilty.
On Friday morning, authorities descended on his parents’ home in Washington and the Spanish-style apartment complex where he lived in nearby St. George.
Neighbors stood by watching FBI agents come and go from the apartment, many in disbelief.
“I’m shocked, obviously, but it’s so confusing and disappointing,” said Jesse Riley who lives nearby. “I’ve been here 13 years,” Riley said. “The community is very conservative, very patriotic.”
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/who-tyler-robinson-charlie-kirk-suspect-814fd21f
