Updated September 12, 2025 at 11:44 AM EDT
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The suspect in the fatal shooting of right-wing activist and podcaster Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University is in custody, state and federal officials confirmed Friday morning.
Kirk, the 31-year-old CEO and co-founder of the conservative youth organization Turning Point USA, was shot at Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, on the first stop of his American Comeback Tour. Local, state and federal authorities have been searching for his killer ever since, asking for the public's help and offering a $100,000 reward.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox opened Friday's press briefing by saying: "We got him." He named the suspect as Tyler Robinson and said he was turned in to authorities on Thursday night by family after making statements that suggested he was responsible for Kirk's death.
Cox said investigators interviewed Robinson's relatives, who painted a picture of a young man who had become "more political" in recent years and expressed disparaging views of Kirk at a mealtime conversation ahead of his campus visit to Utah.
Investigators said Robinson's roommate showed them messages between them, in which Robinson allegedly referenced retrieving a rifle from a drop point and wrapping a rifle in a towel, as well as changing outfits.
Cox said he was seen on video footage arriving at Utah Valley University on Wednesday morning, wearing the same clothes he wore when he was taken into custody. He changed in and out of the all-black outfit seen in photos released by the FBI on Thursday on the roof, Cox said.
FBI Director Kash Patel said Robinson was taken into custody at 10 p.m. local time, less than 36 hours after the shooting. In their press conference, officials confirmed comments Trump made during an appearance on Fox & Friends earlier that morning.
Trump told the show that a minister recognized the suspect — who he did not name — from the photos released to the public, and went to his father. The father "convinced the son," Trump said, and took him to a friend who happened to be a U.S. Marshal, to turn him in.
"I hope he's going to be found guilty, I would imagine, and I hope he gets the death penalty," Trump added.
Cox previously said that the state of Utah was preparing affidavits to pursue the death penalty against Kirk's killer. On Friday, the governor said Robinson "will be charged soon," and said the state is working closely with Kirk's family in that process.
Officials stressed that the investigation is ongoing, with law enforcement continuing to analyze evidence and pursue all of the approximately 7,000 tips from the public.
Cox said Robinson is a resident of nearby Washington County, Utah, and was not a student at Utah Valley University. He also confirmed that the bullet casings found near the Mauser bolt-action rifle believed to be the murder weapon were engraved with slogans including: "hey fascist! catch!" and "O Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Bella ciao, Ciao, ciao!" — seemingly referencing an Italian anti-fascist song.
A close Trump ally, Kirk is credited with energizing young Republicans and helping them deliver his electoral victory in 2024. His death has drawn condolences — and condemnation of political violence — from both sides of the aisle.
In a visibly emotional speech on Friday morning, Cox said he believes this is a "watershed moment in American history" and called on all Americans — especially young people — to embrace it as a turning point.
"You are inheriting a country where politics feels like rage," Cox said, adding that what he described as Kirk's embrace of open dialogue could be a model for how to change that. "Your generation has an opportunity to build a culture that is very different than what we are suffering through right now, not by pretending that differences don't matter, but by embracing our differences and having those hard conversations."
We are asking for the public's help identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.
— FBI Salt Lake City (@FBISaltLakeCity) September 11, 2025
1-800-CALL-FBI
Digital media tips: https://t.co/K7maX81TjJ pic.twitter.com/ALuVkTXuDc
Kirk's casket was flown to Arizona Thursday evening on Air Force Two, with Kirk's widow, Erika, Vice President JD Vance and second lady Usha Vance onboard.
The vice president — who mourned the father of two as a "great family man" and "true friend" in a lengthy tribute on X — was originally slated to attend a Sept. 11 remembrance ceremony in New York City.
While attending a separate Sept. 11 ceremony at the Pentagon, Trump said he plans to posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. Trump called Kirk "a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty and an inspiration to millions." Trump previously ordered all U.S. flags to be flown at half-staff through Sunday in mourning.
Here's what else we know about Kirk's killing and the search for the suspect.
Kirk had only been speaking for a few minutes
The university confirmed Kirk was shot at 12:10 p.m. local time, 10 minutes after the student-sponsored event started. A shot is believed to have been fired from the roof of a building about 150 yards away from Kirk, it said.
"He was hit and taken from the location by his security," it said.
Police cleared people from the campus as it closed down. One of those people was Emma Pitts, a staff writer with Salt Lake City-based Deseret News.
Pitts told NPR the atmosphere at the outdoor event was pleasant before the shooting, with a handful of people protesting, and someone waving a Pride flag from the balcony.
"There were so many college students. Everyone just seemed so happy to have Kirk there," she said.
About 3,000 people were in the crowd, university police said. The Utah Department of Public Safety said university police had six officers working the event, in addition to Kirk's own security detail. Pitts said there was no bag screening process for ticketholders as they filed into the courtyard.
Kirk was answering an audience member's question about mass shootings and gun violence when the shot was fired. Graphic videos circulating on social media show Kirk — sitting in a chair under a tent with signs reading "The American Comeback" and "Prove Me Wrong" — holding a microphone when he suddenly appears to grab his neck and slump out of his chair.
Pitts reported that after the shot rang out, she saw "so much blood" coming from Kirk's neck, and said he "went limp." Attendees ducked down soon after, she said.
"The amount of blood I saw immediately, I just don't see how someone would survive from that, and it's a tragedy," she said.
The university will be closed through Sunday.
"We are shocked and saddened by the tragic passing of Charlie Kirk, a guest to our campus," a statement from the university said. "Our hearts go out to his family."
How the search for the suspect unfolded
Authorities took two individuals into custody in the hours after the shooting, but released both. Utah Valley University police later charged one of them with obstruction.
Mason with Utah's Department of Public Safety said law enforcement had made breakthroughs on Wednesday night, homing in on a suspect who appears to be of college age and "blended in well with a college institution."
He said the suspect arrived on campus at 11:52 a.m., and that investigators have tracked his movements through stairwells, up to the roof and "across the roof to a shooting location." After the shooting, he said, the suspect jumped off the roof and fled campus to a nearby neighborhood.
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Robert Bohls, the FBI special agent in charge, said investigators recovered the suspected murder weapon — a "high-powered, bolt action rifle" in a wooded area where the shooter had fled, as well as a footwear impression, palmprint and forearm impression.
He said it was not clear how far the suspect had fled, but did not believe the community was in danger.
Authorities turned to the public for help identifying the suspect, with the FBI directing people to its digital tip line, and offering a reward of up to $100,000 for "information leading to the identification and arrest of the individual(s) responsible" for Kirk's death.
The agency released series of photos and videos on Thursday.
First it shared blurry pictures of a man dressed in black pants, a black T-shirt featuring a U.S. flag and a bald eagle, dark Converse sneakers as well as a black backpack. He also had on sunglasses and a dark baseball cap with a triangle on it. Later they released clearer photos of that man, as well as video of what they described as a person of interest.
In the video, narrated by Mason, the suspected shooter runs across the roof of a building, lowers himself over the edge and then drops to the ground. He then runs across a parking lot, crosses a street and heads into a wooded area. There is no weapon immediately visible in the video.
"We are truly hopeful that this video and new photos will lead to even more tips," Utah Gov. Spencer Cox told reporters.
Law enforcement had received more than 7,000 leads and tips from the public at that point, Cox said, noting that the FBI said it had not received this many digital media tips from the public since the Boston Marathon bombing. He said authorities had completed nearly 200 interviews in the course of the investigation so far.
Condolences and condemnations pour in
Politicians and public figures are condemning Kirk's killing, even those on the left who say they vehemently disagreed with his views. An advocate for free speech and limited government, Kirk also used his sizable platform to spread falsehoods and conspiracy theories about topics including climate change, vaccines, transgender people and demographic change.
Former Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton — as well as the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation — issued statements condemning such an act of violence on a college campus.
Trump posted a four-minute video from the Oval Office expressing his "grief and anger" at the "heinous assassination" of his conservative ally.
He blamed the media and the political left for the violence, which he said included the assassination attempt against himself in Butler, Pa., during the 2024 campaign.
"It's long past time for all Americans and the media to confront the fact that violence and murder are the tragic consequence of demonizing those with whom you disagree day after day, year after year, in the most hateful and despicable way possible," Trump said.
Trump did not include any examples of political violence against Democrats. Those include the June attack in Minnesota that killed a state lawmaker as well as her husband and dog, and left another lawmaker wounded, and the arson attack at Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's residence in April.
"We've had political assassinations recently in Minnesota, we had an attempted assassination on the governor of Pennsylvania and we had an attempted assassination on a presidential candidate ... and now-president of the United States," Cox, a Republican, said at his press conference. "Nothing I can say right now can fix what is broken."
An NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released in July found that 73% of Americans see politically motivated violence as a major problem, with little difference between political parties.
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