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 (September 12), 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 (September 11).

A family member interviewed by investigators said Robinson had become more political recently and spoke in a disparaging manner about Kirk, Cox told reporters.

(Production: Ashraf Fahim; Sandra Stojanovic)

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

OREM, UTAH, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 12, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

1. FBI DIRECTOR, KASH PATEL, UTAH GOVERNOR, SPENCER COX, AND OTHER OFFICIALS WALKING INTO NEWS CONFERENCE

2. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UTAH GOVERNOR, SPENCER COX, SAYING:

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. We got him. On the evening of September 11th, 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. This information was relayed to the Utah County Sheriff's Office and scene investigators at Utah Valley University. This information was also conveyed to the FBI."

3. COX SPEAKING

4. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UTAH GOVERNOR, SPENCER COX, SAYING:

"Investigators reviewed additional video footage from UVU surveillance and identified Robinson arriving on UVU campus in a gray Dodge Challenger at approximately 8:29 a.m. on September 10th, in which he is observed on video in a plain maroon t-shirt, light colored shorts, a black hat with a white logo, and light-colored shoes. When encountered in person by investigators in Washington County on September 12th, in the early morning hours, Robinson was observed in consistent clothing with those surveillance images. Investigators interviewed a family member of Robinson who stated that Robinson had become more political in recent years. The family member referenced a recent incident in which Robinson came to dinner prior to September 10th, and in the conversation with another family member, Robinson mentioned Charlie Kirk was coming to UVU. They talked about why they didn't like him and the viewpoints that he had. The family member also stated Kirk was full of hate and spreading hate."

5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) UTAH GOVERNOR, SPENCER COX, SAYING:

"Investigators discovered a bolt action rifle wrapped in a dark colored towel. The rifle was determined to be a Mauser model 98 .36 caliber bolt action rifle. The rifle had a scope mounted on top of it. Investigators noted inscriptions that had been engraved on casings found with the rifle. Inscriptions on a fired casing read, ‘notices, bulges, capital O-W-O, what's this, question mark’. Inscriptions on the three unfired casings read, ‘Hey fascist, exclamation point, catch, exclamation point. Up arrow symbol, right arrow symbol and three down arrow symbols’. A second unfired casing read, ‘Oh Bella Ciao, Bella Ciao Bella Ciao Ciao Ciao’. And a third unfired casing read ‘If you read this, you are gay. LMAO’."